Beating of Hearts
by Amateurhuman
Summary: Max goes back in time one last time to set things right once and for all. She finds that Arcadia Bay is not without its troubles even in this new timeline. The story begins a couple of weeks after the end of the original Life is Strange game. Part 1 in the "A Better Tomorrow" series.
1. Prologue

_Message from the author:_ Hey! I have started writing on this again after a couple of months silence. I added a prologue and have rewritten all old chapters, mostly added details and color, but also some more important things here and there. It is still the same story.

 **Prologue**

Max had never felt brave. Even during the worst and most gut-wrenching situations that had happened the last week, she had felt alone, sad, panicked, disgusted, afraid, even happy and in love, but never brave. You really couldn't feel brave. You just did what you had to do, and if anyone was left to judge you afterwards, then they _might_ consider you brave. But if you erased everything that had happened and replaced it with a new reality, there would be no one left to judge you for your choices and actions of the old one. Only Max herself could. And she did.

Max stared out at the horizon with the setting sun above. She stood beneath the lighthouse, with the town at her back and the vast ocean before her. She had wanted to get up here before the funeral, Chloe's funeral. Max was not sure if this would be the last time she would stand here, or the first in one of many in this old new reality. Maybe she would go up here every time she wanted to remember Chloe the way she was just before their roads had parted forever. Their rekindled friendship, finally in full bloom. And their love. Their first, and last, real kiss. All this had been theirs, if just for an instant, now lost in time.

Right now the pain she felt at the memories was just too much, and she doubted she would ever set foot at the lighthouse again. But time heals all wounds, right? But time also destroys everything and kills everyone. It's just a matter of time. Everything is.

Now time was up.

With a heavy heart, Max turned away from the setting sun. This whole situation seemed surreal, dreamlike, and she just wished she would wake up from this slow-burning nightmare. But all her wishes were in vain. This nightmare she had to live through, because it was real.

Despite her reluctance, Max's feet led her down the winding trail from the lighthouse down to the parking lot below, where her parents sat waiting for her in their car. Chloe awaited her for one last time.

It was time.


	2. Chapter 1

The air in the little hut was hot and smoky. The hut's inside was clad in musky deer skins from wall to ground. In the middle, a big log fire burned red, but shadows still lingered at the room's fringes. She sat naked on a low bench, thick sweat running down her back, limbs, and brow, stinging her eyes. Time stretched onwards indefinitely.

She remembered following the labyrinth. For hours and hours she had walked, feeling the thirst burn her throat and the weariness overtake her legs. She had continued on sheer will, a will she didn't know she possessed. This time, she wouldn't give up. This time, she would go all the way, wherever it led her. When she, at last, reached the center of the enormous paved swirling coil, she fell to her knees, so exhausted she couldn't think. And in the center, there was nothing.

With a last trembling breath, she laid down on the packed dirt, to just diminish, to die. Then, in that instance, everything changed.

With a bang, the door flap was thrown aside and in trotted a big yellow coyote grinning a toothy grin, pink tongue lolling. Its flaming golden eyes observed her briefly before it sat down on her left side and stared into the flames. The coyote's shining fur glittered in the dancing light.

The bonfire crackled and popped merrily while radiating its merciless heat at her face and body, burning away at her sense of self and cohesion.

Suddenly, a large black raven came swooping in from nowhere and took ground on her other side. It beat its wings a few times and rumpled its feathers with a dagger-like beak before it too begun staring into the fire.

The coyote spoke. "Mowitch tyee tomanowa...Your task task task is not yet done."

The coyote remained motionless, but the raven turned its black glistening eyes towards Max and gazed at her intently.

When Max woke up, she was covered in dried sweat. She had trouble remembering where she was or even who she was. Her head was pounding and her throat was sore and dry. She tried to sit up but felt immediately that it was the wrong move. Instead, she carefully leaned back into a reclining position again. She tried inhaling deeply, but her nose was clogged with something. _Snot?_ Max peeled off some black crust from her nostril with a fingernail. _Not snot, blood. Oh right, time travelling takes its toll in blood, like a sacrifice. Yuck._

She tried to remember what had happened, but she had only vague memories of going back in time to her room in Seattle, through a photo. Sending emails? Calling people? Everything was jumbled into a hazy frenzy in her mind. She tried to remember what she had tried to do. What had she been trying to accomplish?

Then it hit her, the bottomless sadness that she remembered all too well—Chloe. She had sacrificed Chloe to save Arcadia Bay and everybody in it. The logic was clear and incontestable, but it had been the right choice, the only choice. No matter how much you loved someone, you just couldn't let that person live at the cost of the lives of thousands of people—men, women, kids, and babies. It just wasn't possible. She could never have lived with the guilt, she knew it. But at the same time, it was totally the wrong choice. She had been there when Chloe had been shot. She'd heard the bang when Nathan pulled the trigger. She'd heard her cry out in shock when the bullet penetrated her abdomen, ripping a huge hole in her slim body and puncturing her aorta. She had smelled the acrid smoke from the gun, and she had heard Chloe fall to the ground with a heavy, gut-wrenching thump. She had sat there listening, just a couple of meters away, to Chloe's heartbreaking sobs, getting more and more quiet and strained as she bled out on the cold hard floor of the girl's bathroom, which would eventually be completely covered in Chloe's warm, sticky, red blood. It had been a quick affair really. Chloe had gone from fully alive to cold and dead in just a matter of seconds. Maybe a minute. But it had felt like an eternity. And Max had been there with her, sitting just out of reach, the whole time. She'd done nothing at all, except cry silently.

That Max hadn't gone completely insane at that moment was a miracle. It scared her that she hadn't. What kind of person could keep her sanity while doing what she'd done? But in the last several weeks, she had surprised herself many times.

She wasn't as tough as she thought though. The funeral and the weeks that followed had been hard on her. Afterwards, she barely got up for days on end, barely ate. She could remember the worried expressions on her friends' faces.

And then the dreams had started, almost every night. Ghostly animals of various species everywhere, looking for something. An ocean in turmoil. Ground that split, hills and rivers broken in two. And fire. Fire everywhere, in the sky, in the woods, up close all around her or just big grey curtains of rising smoke at the horizon. Sometimes she saw a big, hulking shape looming in the background. It looked a bit like a bear, but a bear the size of a mountain. And over it all flew a giant black bird. She heard faint beats like from a drum or a giant heart, and voices whispering to her in an incomprehensible language, beckoning her, urging her.

The dreams showed her strange patterns, like big winding coils, sometimes as great signs in the sky and sometimes like large labyrinths on the ground. She had to follow these labyrinths, constantly searching for her way back to the beginning, but in her dreams she never managed to get there. It frustrated her to no end, and her frustration spilled over into her waking hours. It was an itch that she couldn't scratch. It competed with the deep sadness she felt, sometimes overtaking it. Sometimes it was this frustration that made it possible for her to get up in the morning. The feeling that she should do something, that there was something needing to be accomplished, kept her from remaining idle in her sorrow. But what was it she needed to do? It took her some time, but eventually she came to understand that she hadn't saved everyone who needed to be saved for the curse to be lifted, for the danger to be averted. She had failed, and she had been punished for it, so she had to try again. And so she had, one last time.

Regaining some of her strength, Max sat up and looked around her dorm room at Blackwell Academy. It was a mess, and her bed was even messier, with big blood stains on the pillow and mattress where her head had rested. She turned and looked at herself in the mirror. She almost jumped at the pale, blood-smeared face that looked back, like something from an old zombie flick. She just had to do a flesh-eater grimace.

 _Heh, zombies are all the rage today, aren't they? If you can't beat them, eat them…_

She looked around for something to quench her thirst, and her eyes fell on the plastic bottle she used as a water pitcher for her sole plant. It was almost full.

"Sorry, Lisa, I think I need this more than you," she drank the whole bottle of stale, lukewarm water, and it made her feel immensely better.

 _Ok, bleeding stopped, check. Water, check. Next step in the survivalist's guide should be food._

She rummaged through her room until she found a few forgotten wheat flake cookies in a crumpled package hidden in her cupboard. It didn't stop her stomach from grumbling, but every little bit helped.

 _Food, check. Kind of anyway._ She glanced at herself in the mirror again. _Next step is hygiene. Definitely._ She had blood smeared everywhere on her face, and her hair was plastered against her skull in thick cakes. She could just imagine how she smelled. She wrinkled her blood-spotted nose. _I hope I don't meet anyone on the way to the showers, or I'll be the talk of the town for months to come._

Luckily, there was no one around, and Max returned back from the showers unseen, refreshed, and a lot cleaner. She dressed and put her dirty clothes in her laundry sack. The stained sheets and pillowcase went to the same destination. Max looked at the stain left on the mattress where the blood had seeped through the fabric of the bed sheet. It was as big, but it was distinct.

 _Looks exactly like a period stain_. Somehow, Max thought back on when she got her first period. She had been about thirteen years old, and they had just moved to Seattle from Arcadia Bay. She hadn't even finished unpacking all of her stuff, but still had some boxes left to go through stacked against the wall. Some of them never were unpacked.

She had woken up early in the morning and had immediately known what was happening, but she had still been totally unprepared. She remembered looking at her bloodied pajama pants and sheets, and for some reason she had felt so ashamed, almost panicked. In the dawn's early light, believing her parents wouldn't notice, she had sneaked out and thrown both her pajamas and her bed sheets into the garbage bin. Oh boy had she gotten a scolding for that.

That was one of the times she had missed Chloe the most. All the talk about "being a woman now" hadn't impressed her in the least. All of that stuff was just cumbersome and no fun. She had wanted to talk to Chloe about it, about that and the other physical and mental changes that lined up through the coming years. She wanted to share their experiences and their differences. Chloe had a way of cutting through the bullshit and pointing out the important, and even not so important, things for her, always with a laugh and a joke, never making her feel uncomfortable or awkward.

But William's death and Max moving to Seattle, which happened on almost the same day, had changed all that. Max felt shame creep up inside her as she thought of the way she had left Chloe that day, promising to keep in touch. She had tried, but the grief had been too strong, both on her part and from Chloe. She had told herself it had all been in self-defense. The few times she and Chloe had talked, Max had always felt so guilty, and Chloe had sounded so forcedly happy. It had just left a bad taste in her mouth. She would think of their conversations for days or weeks, which only made her heartbroken and sad. She had missed the old, happy Chloe every day, but the new, sad Chloe she hadn't been able to bear. If she hadn't put some distance between them, she would've inevitably been dragged down into the same bottomless pit that Chloe had inhabited.

In retrospect, Max felt very ashamed about her behavior now, but she had just been an odd, sensitive kid back then. She'd had trouble adjusting to her new home and new peers, and for each month, each year, that passed, the barrier between her and her former best friend had risen higher and higher. It was no excuse though. She had to talk to Chloe about it and make her understand why things went the way they did. They had become friends again, more than friends really, in the week that never was. She thought of Chloe's lips pressed against hers and her heart swelled in her chest. That was in another reality, another timeline, she had to remind herself. This Chloe probably had no idea that Max was even back in Arcadia Bay.

 _If she is even alive._

Max fetched her phone. It still had Chloe's number. She had not deleted it. She had even moved both Chloe's number and her old messages to the new phone she got for Christmas last year. But there had been no new messages for many years. Should she send her a text now, or maybe just call? Or perhaps call Joyce instead? Or…the cemetery? Damn, she didn't dare do any of that. What would she do if nothing had changed? If Chloe was still…dead and buried? Her mind didn't want to go there. She wrote a short text to Chloe, but she couldn't bring herself to actually send it. Five years of writing messages but never sending them had her petrified of the outcome of sending one.

Maybe it would be better to wait, or maybe it would be even better to ask around and see if she could get any clues that way. Besides, she really needed to eat something, now. She could feel her energy levels dropping to red and sinking fast. Max could almost hear klaxons bellow out warnings in her head. _Energy levels critical. The whole thing's critically critical, old chap…_

It was Sunday. Was the Blackwell cafeteria open on Sunday? Incredibly enough, she longed for one, or two, of the cafeteria's crummy sandwiches with a cup of black coffee and a candy bar on the side. Max hadn't been this hungry in years.

 _Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. Get on with it. Go eat and solve the other problems later. Follow the steps of the survival guide and you'll be all right._

A short while later a refreshed but ravenous Max walked through the Blackwell corridors heading for the cafeteria. The halls were completely empty, which was a bit strange but good. Max didn't want company. She just wanted to grab a coffee and something substantial to eat and then head back to her room in peace. She passed through the cafeteria door quickly, but immediately came to a stop at the sight before her.

There she sat, in the centre of a group of students, laughing and goofing around with each and every one of them. Max had only ever seen her in pictures before, but it was her, no doubt about it. The long, elegant, red-blonde hair, the almond-shaped, hazel eyes, even the blue feather pendant hanging from her left ear was there. The girl looked up and their eyes locked. Max couldn't help herself. "Rachel!" !

All heads in the cafeteria turned to her where Max stood still like a statue. Her first instinct was to reach inwards into her mind to find the time rewind mechanism. She raised her hand in front of her like grasping an imaginary throttle, bBut there was nothing there. It was like mistakenly walking down a stair step while expecting an even floor. She stumbled inside, vertigo overpowered her for a second, and then it was all gone. Her powers were gone.

Her second instinct was to turn and flee the room. That worked just dandy. Max could hear the mounting laughter, whistling, and applause as she exited the cafeteria and ran down the hall to the girls' bathroom, but she really didn't care. She bent down over a sink and splashed her face with cold water. Her mind spun uncontrollably. _Shit, shit, shit! It worked. It actually worked! Rachel is here!_

Someone came in and closed the door. "Hey! What the fuck was that about?" And like a ghost from the past, there stood Rachel in her trademark plaited shirt and ripped, black jeans, her arms crossed and looking extremely annoyed.

"Sorry," stuttered Max, staring at her feet, unable to meet Rachel's gaze, _the_ Rachel! "I-I don't know. It was nothing, a mistake…"

"Nothing? A mistake? You looked like you had seen a freakin' ghost! It creeped me the hell out! And that weird hand gesture you did, like some crazy voodoo stuff…that was just over the top, dude."

"I am very sorry. I don't know what came over me." Max still couldn't bear looking her in the eyes, so she looked at Rachel's red sneakers instead. They were neatly tied. Feelings of shock and joy overpowered her, making her breath quicken, her eyes fill with tears, and her cheeks to burn. _It fucking worked, it fucking worked, it fucking worked,_ looped again and again in her head.

"Hey, are you there? Are you all right?" Rachel's irritated voice broke in.

"Yes," Max managed to whisper.

"Well, then take your issues elsewhere, and leave me the fuck alone. Okay?"

Rachel turned to the door, and Max knew this was neither the time nor the place, but she just couldn't let the question remain unanswered any longer. She had to ask. "Wait, Rachel," Max squeaked out just loud enough to make Rachel turn around again. Rachel let out a sigh, but waited expectantly for her to say something. Her eyebrow arched questioningly. Max hesitated, but then took the plunge. "I need to ask you about...about…Chloe."

"Chloe? Chloe who?" Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes narrowed.

"Price."

"Chloe Price!" True surprise spread over Rachel's face. She walked up to Max and stared at her. "What about her? Do you know her? How?"

Where Max hadn't been able to meet Rachel's hazel gaze earlier, now she couldn't break away from it. Max mumbled, "Is she all right? She's a friend."

"Ha! Friend? Since when?" Rachel put her hands on her hips and gave her an incredulous stare.

"Uh, long ago…"

"Wait, what?" Something began to dawn on Rachel's face. You're Maxine, Max, right? Are you _that_ Max? The Max she keeps harping about time and time again?"

"Uhh…maybe?"Max's heart made a jolt in her breast. _She talks about me with Rachel?_

"So you are _maybe_ the "friend" who left her in her, like, deepest despair?" Rachel's eyes ignited with a blazing fire. "The "friend" who just disappeared when she was all alone and in dire need, refusing to call her, or even text, let alone visit? THAT good old friend?" Rachel's face shone in righteous anger. "Ah, she will be delighted to hear you are back in Arcadia Bay! For, like, hmm, let's see…three months? And you haven't yet given her a single call, a single message that you are here, no? Oh, she will be absolutely thrilled, I'll tell ya!"

"But, wait…" Max shrunk back.

"And I'll tell you something else, you sorry excuse of a shit." Rachel's voice went icy cold. She stabbed her finger in Max's chest repeatedly, pushing her back against the bathroom wall. "You. Leave. Chloe. The fuck! Alone. Do you hear me? She's been through so much shit, you would not believe. Not that you ever cared. But she doesn't need a fucking moron like you to come in tearing up old wounds, okay? We don't need you, and we most definitely don't want you!"

Rachel backed out the exit, still pointing at Max. "If I see you go even near her, I'll fucking rip your throat out, understood?" Rachel gave her a last icy look before leaving the bathroom. The door slammed as she left.

Alone again, Max slid her back down the wall tiles, flustered and with tears stinging her eyes. _Chloe! Oh god, Chloe, you are alive! I can't believe it! I can't believe it! But what the hell just happened?_


	3. Chapter 2

The days passed in a blur. It had been almost a week since her confrontation with Rachel, and it was becoming apparent that it would take some time before she adjusted to this new reality. So much had changed.

Max mostly kept to herself because she was never sure of her relationships with the other students and teachers in this timeline. It was always confusing piecing together how everything had worked out just after she had altered a timeline, but she had become quite good at it. It was actually a good thing she was the quiet type that preferred to listen rather than speak. Nobody expected her to talk, and therefore she was safer from revealing how little she actually knew about what was going on around her.

To keep everything organized, she kept a diary tracking what had changed and what had stayed the same. She kept it well-hidden in her dorm room. She knew if someone ever found it they'd think she was a lunatic creep for sure, but it was a necessary aid in getting a grip on things.

This Friday afternoon she sat in her bed with a cup of tea and leafed through her diary, jotting down small corrections and comments of things she had learned or thought of during the day. The changes from the earlier reality were profound.

First and foremost, Mark Jefferson was in jail at the Mill Creek correctional facility. Rumors had surfaced that Mr. Jefferson had drugged and exploited students at the school he had worked at before coming to Blackwell. When the police, with the help of an anonymous tip, found and raided his secret photo studio, they discovered binder after binder of compromising photos, as well as drugs and restraining equipment. His connection with the Prescott family was never examined publicly though, and the news soon blew over. All that happened about a year ago.

So, Jefferson was gone from Blackwell and instead there was a new photo teacher, Miss Devereaux from Chicago. She seemed all right, though a bit young and inexperienced maybe. She wanted to be called by her first name, Sarah, instead of Miss Devereaux, because she said being called "Miss Devereaux" made her feel like an old spinster. Max still felt awkward when addressing her by her first name, but she would get used to it, no doubt. Also, she was really cute with close-cropped black hair and dark, almost black skin that made her smile shining white in contrast. And she smiled a lot, both in class and outside. Max reached over and searched in her shoebox of photos for the ones she had taken of Sarah, more or less in secrecy. She found them and looked them over, but none of them gave her justice. Oh well, hopefully there would be more photo opportunities later on.

Max put the photos back in the box and continued looking through her diary. She came upon a page that made her feel really conflicted. _Nathan_. Just thinking of him and what he had done, or to be fair, what he hadn't done, made Max feel queasy, though he _was_ a totally different person now. He hadn't killed one of his friends, Rachel that is, and not being constantly reminded of it from seeing Rachel's face on posters all over the school and the rest of the town, he acted almost normal. Actually, he seemed to make an effort to be extra nice to Max, which just made her feel even worse around him. Nathan still had his issues for sure, but he had much fewer compared to the other timeline where it seemed he could explode at any minute.

Max thought back on of how Nathan had knocked on the door to the girl's bathroom last week, just after she had received that scolding from Rachel. He had seemed genuinely concerned, asking if she was all right and if he could come in, but she had more or less told him off and asked him to go away. It had made her feel just awful. Oh man, this whole thing with Nathan was such a weird situation that she did not have the faintest idea of how to handle it.

She sighed and quickly flipped to the next page. A pixie-cut blonde girl smirked back at her. Despite the smug look, she was as beautiful and stylish as ever. Max shook her head and smiled. Victoria Chase, queen of bitches.

Victoria, who had won the everyday hero contest, was still a lofty snob, but Nathan's altered behavior also changed her somewhat, so she was easier to be around. Knowing her from the week that never was, Max understood her better, so she had actually managed to become friends with her, although they weren't close. Victoria still had her entourage of Cortney and Taylor around most of the time, and they really didn't approve of Max, so she and Victoria did not spend much time together other than in class. Still, it was nice to have one less enemy. And there was something about Victoria that intrigued Max.

She closed the diary and stretched her arms upright. It was time to get up and do something useful. When Max grabbed the book to put it away, she saw the edge of a photo peek up between the pages, a thin sliver of golden hair showed, and Max instantly recognized to whom it belonged. She put her finger on the edge of the photo and caressed it gently with her finger. _Oh. Kate._

She opened the diary again to look at the picture of Kate March, looking as innocent and a bit troubled as usual. Max felt a pang of regret as she put her fingertip on Kate's chin. Things were much better with Kate in this timeline. That was good. She had never been drugged and abducted, and there was no viral video, and hence no suicide attempt, but she and Max were not close friends any longer. There had actually been a very awkward moment just the other day when Max had thoughtlessly greeted her warmly, almost hugged her. Kate was very confused and distanced herself immediately. She really missed Kate's friendship and she felt she had to work on that, but at the moment there was no time. _Damn you, time._

Warren, Brooke, Juliet, Dana, Justin, Trevor, and the others, well, they were the same as far as she could tell. Warren apparently still had a thing for her, which was a minor nuisance. Mostly for him. She really liked Warren and didn't want to disappoint him, but in the end she knew she had to. Another thing she would have to deal with in time.

The last page had no photo nor much text written on it, and what was written there was almost solely questions and thoughts rather than facts. Still, it was the most important page in the whole diary, Chloe's page. Max's "talk" with Rachel, who she since then had only spotted on some rare occasions and managed to avoid, had changed her thoughts on what to do next, or not really changed, more like, destroyed. She had no idea what she should do, and she still had her unsent text message to Chloe in her phone. Her usual tactic, which she had used for so many years, was to do nothing, so that was what she did. But when the bell had rung out this Friday afternoon, she knew she had to come to a decision. All week she had hoped to get a glimpse of Chloe's blue hair, or whatever color she wore these days, around campus. She'd almost expected it, actually, but alas, nothing.

She couldn't stand this. She needed to talk to someone, but the only one she could think of would probably not give her any more answers. Oh well, it was something she should have done a long time ago anyway, answers or not. It would be better to get it done with.

It took some time to get to William's grave at the Arcadia Bay Cemetery. Max knew where it was located though. It was the same grave where Chloe had been buried, alongside her father, just a couple of weeks ago in the old timeline. It was still painful for her to approach the tombstone. She almost dreaded that it would read not only William Price, but also Chloe Price, March 11, 1994 – October 7, 2013, like this past week had just been a cruel dream and that nothing had really changed. The memory of Chloe's funeral service was still fresh in her memory, like an open wound. Just coming here to the cemetery reopened the wound she had felt from before and going up to that grave was like a knife twisting inside it. It hurt.

Max wiped away tears and tried to compose herself as she walked towards the grave. Just William's name was engraved there, in gold lettering that had already begun to flake a bit at the edges. It eased her mind a little. She stopped a step away from the neatly tended grave. A small bouquet of wildflowers lay dried at its foot. She really should've brought something to give William, but she had forgotten. Max let out a long breath to clear her mind.

 _Hi, William, it's Max here. Long time no see. I…_ Max paused to recollect her thoughts. _I know I should have visited a long time ago, and I know I've been a crappy friend, both to you and to Chloe. Well, I am finally back, and now I am not sure of what to do._ She stopped to swallow down a lump in her throat. _My heart begs me to get in touch with Chloe again, but maybe Rachel is right. Maybe I'll just make things worse. If she is doing fine, living a happy life, and I come along dragging her down into the past again... I can't let that happen to her. I just can't. Oh, how I wish you could give me some advice, as you always did when I was a kid! Even just a small hint would be appreciated._

She stepped forward and put her hand on the gravelly stone. The air, chilly and damp, made the stone glisten with moisture, and it was cold and wet to the touch. Then she saw what looked like a bundle of rags in a plastic bag, half-heartedly hidden behind the tombstone. A closer look revealed a couple of dirty blanket rolls containing a tattered, burn-speckled fleabag, a pair of worn out gloves with cut-off fingers, a thick, wooly winter cap, and a glass jar containing some cigarette stubs, a lighter, and a candle stump. _What is this?_

"Hello, miss, I don't want to intrude, but those things, you can leave them be. I'll take care of them." Max turned around, startled by the sudden voice. An ancient man stood a couple of paces away, in a worker's coveralls and blue rubber boots. His gaunt head was crowned with a plaid cap with earflaps to ward against the chill. He was leaning on a long rake, peering at her. "Are you acquainted with the family?" He nodded at William's tombstone.

Max cleared her throat. "Yes, our families were close, before we moved away."

"I see. Sometimes life doesn't give us any good choices, eh? Are you a friend of the daughter perchance? You seem to be about her age," His eyes, gray as the sea, squinted inquiringly. "Although you are not very alike."

"Chloe? Yes, I am. We go way back." Max smiled at him tentatively.

"Aha, well, I see her around here a lot you know. Those things back there are hers. I know it is against protocol, but I do not have the heart to have them removed. I believe she stays the night here at the grave now and then." He sighed. "She can't have a happy time homewards, poor girl, sleeping here in the cold among the dead, rather than at home with her family." He gave Max a faint sad smile, shaking his head slowly. "So young, but always so sad and lonely. It's not right, it isn't."

"I will do my best to help her, mister. I promise." Max felt a strong resolution build up inside her. The old man smiled and nodded approvingly.

"You do that, young lady. You do that. It would warm this old drawn heart."

 _Oh, Chloe, whatever Rachel says, I won't give up on you this time. I won't._

When she came back to the dormitory later that afternoon, someone had written on her whiteboard:

Gimme a knock when u get home.

—the bitch across the board .

 _Vic…_

Max knocked on the door across the corridor to hers. It opened, and Victoria appeared with a morose expression. "Well, if it isn't the cardinal weirdo of Blackwell. Not that it means much considering how weird this place is."

"Hello to you too, Victoria. What's up?" Max couldn't help but give Victoria a small smile.

"I've heard there's going to be a party down at the beach tonight, big bonfire and everything. I was thinking of going to watch the spectacle. Interested in tagging along?" Victoria put an arm to her side, cocked her head, and looked at Max through heavy eyelids. "I need a partner in crime, and it's not likely you have anything planned on a Friday night, am I right?"

"Uhh, no. Maybe?" Max was a bit taken aback.

"Come on. Let's hang with the trash-kids! I don't want to be alone with that scary bunch, and I figured it would pique your pathetic hipster taste." She gave Max a sneering, though not unfriendly, smile.

"But what about Taylor or Courtney, don't they want to come?"

"Sadly, they are not interested in exploring the drossy underworld of Arcadia Bay, whilst I find it has its degenerate charm. Also, I think they're scared shitless, the little pussies." She grinned crookedly.

"Ah, I see." Max thought for a moment. "Do you…do you think Rachel will be there?"

"No idea, why do you ask?" Victoria was clearly annoyed by the question. "Don't tell me you are part of her vomit-inducing worshippers too? You don't seem the type."

"Oh no, on the contrary, we are pretty far from friends I think."

"Good. So…are you coming?" Victoria looked really eager, and Max couldn't find an excuse not to.

Dusk had already settled when Max and Victoria came walking down to the beach. It was a beautifully starred night with a big moon hanging low on the horizon and painting the big, slowly moving waves in a silvery light. They spotted the fire from a distance. The tall, burning flames had gathered quite a crowd. A boom box was playing loudly and people sat in groups drinking, smoking, and talking here and there in the sand. Some were dancing down by the beach. Victoria reached into her bag and fished out a can of cider which she promptly handed to Max. "Want one?"

"Ah no, sorry, I don't drink."

"Suit yourself, miss wholesome," Victoria snickered, "the more for me." She cracked the can open in a swift motion and took a sip. "So, keen observers as we are both, where should we choose our perching spot?"

They found a good place at the fire, near enough to chase away the cold of night but not close enough to get them roasted. A lot of people were milling about. Max thought she saw both Justin and Trevor in the corner of her eye, and maybe Dana too, but no one came up to them to say hi, and they didn't seek out new company.

"Hello there, ladies. Mind if I join you?" A tall broad figure sat down beside Max. Victoria groaned in response. "Oh, hello, Victoria," he said in a less than jovial tone. Then he turned to Max. "Hi, I'm Elliot, and who might you be?"

"We do," said Victoria.

"What?"

"Mind!"

Elliot moved closer to Max and put an arm around her slim shoulders. "I am talking to this lady here, Vic, not you."

"You're drunk, Elliot. Go away. She's clearly not interested."

Ignoring Victoria, Elliot squeezed Max until she barely could breathe. "Can I offer the lady some refreshments?" He held out a bottle to Max, but his unstable hand accidentally spilled some right down onto her crotch.

"Ewww!" shrieked Max. "Cold!"

"Always the gentleman," scoffed Victoria. "Now please leave before you embarrass yourself even further. She doesn't want you here."

"It's not up to you," Elliot began to say, but was interrupted by Max's struggle to get free.

"Yes, please, leave me alone. I don't like beer!" Max said. She managed to squirm loose and push him away from herself. "And I am not even into boys!"

Elliot stared at her for a couple of long seconds and then shook his head in disbelief. "Fine, fine, I'll go find a real woman instead."

"Yes, go find someone who _enjoys_ getting beer on their lady-parts for a change," Victoria called after him as he rose up and left. She huffed out a long breath. "What a loser. Way to blow him off, Max. I'll remember that one, seemed pretty effective."

Max tried to dry her wet jeans with some tissues provided by Victoria, but it was not much use. Luckily, they were of a dark fabric, and in combination with the darkness of the night, hopefully no one would think she had peed herself. _Oh, golly, what a perfect start to a perfect evening…_

They sat for a while longer, Victoria commenting on people's style and demeanor with a biting wit that made Max laugh time and again despite herself. Victoria could be so mean, but she was also very funny while dishing out the verdicts. Max felt a little bit guilty for all the people who accidentally wandered into Victoria's sights and got slaughtered without mercy. Well, it was just for fun, wasn't it? And they were none the wiser, but still.

Suddenly, a large gang of people came walking along the surfs, and calamity ensued. There were shouts of greeting and joy, high-fives, and hugs all around. Victoria stretched her neck to get a better look. "Oh no, look who's coming…the trash royale."

Max peered through the darkness down at the water's edge, but she couldn't see clearly. Too many people were mingling about, like a small riot. Was that Rachel over there, talking and gesticulating wildly in front of a group of laughing youths? And there was Justin and Trevor again talking with a slender person in an old army coat and trucker cap. They were passing a spliff between them while having an energetic exchanging of words. Her heart started beating hard when she realized who it must be. She couldn't see the face at this distance and in the dark, but the lanky body movements and the way the person used her hands while talking gave it away. eIt was Chloe!

"Yeah, yeah, Rachel is here," Victoria said, misinterpreting Max's stare. "I heard you really pissed her off for some reason. Don't worry, I'll protect you if she comes our way. I know how to handle slutty bitches like her."

"Vic, do you see who Trevor and Justin are talking to down there?" Max pointed farther down the beach. Victoria squinted.

"That? That's Chloe Price, Rachel's own little mangy lapdog," she said with a sneer. "Follows her around wherever she goes, eager to jump into her lap at any opportunity, if you know what I mean."

"I'm not following you…"

Victoria let her tongue flutter between her lips, waving her eyebrows and looking at Max insinuatingly.

"You mean, they…" Max blushed deeply.

"As sure as the sun rises in the morning, baby," Victoria said with a harsh laugh. "Don't let her near you, she may be contagious."

"Oh…so they are…a couple?"

"I wouldn't go that far. Rachel has her fingers in many a honey pot, both stamen and pistil, so to speak. Chloe is just her longest standing gig."

"I think I want to go down there now," said Max, rising to her feet. Her heart started to beat faster.

"What? Are you crazy?" Victoria looked at her with an incredulous stare. "You want to climb right down into the bear pit of your own free will? Why?"

"I need to go talk to Chloe," Max said apologetically. "We're old childhood friends."

Victoria's eyebrows shot up. "Really? You surprise me, you little waif. Well, don't let me get in the way of your tear-filled reunion, but please watch your back down there."

Max smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Victoria, I'll be back soon. Promise."

Of course, Max lost track of Chloe immediately. She spent a sizeable amount of time searching around and came upon Justin, Trevor, and some other people standing in a circle while talking and listening to some loud music. Max patted Justin on the shoulder. He turned around and gave her a surprised look.

"Yo, Maaaaxiiine," he said, raising a fist which she bumped awkwardly. "Hey dude, what are you doing here?"

"I am…I am looking for Chloe actually. Have you seen her?"

"Chloe, like in, Price?" he looked at her quizzically. "Yeah, she's around." He turned his head. "Hey, Trev, d'you know where Price went?"

Trevor turned around too. "Oh hi, Max. No, sorry, I don't. She wanted to chill by herself for a while. I think she left."

Max face scrunched in worry. _No, no, no, she can't have left already._

"Yo, she just wanted to bake in peace. Go check down by the dunes." Trevor pointed. "She probably hasn't gone that far."

"Thanks, guys. I'll do that," she said as she hurried away. Justin and Trevor gave each other a look that clearly meant "what the hell is going on?" but didn't bother asking.

It took some time for Max to locate Chloe amongst the sandy dunes, but there she stood, just a shadow in the distance, smoking and looking out at the horizon and the rolling moonlit sea. Max's heart leapt to life and began to beat rapidly as she hastily walked towards her. _Chloe, here I come, at last._

Suddenly, another shadowy figure emerged, walking up to Chloe. Max stopped. She watched as they talked for a while, and then the bigger figure embraced Chloe. _Elliot?_ It was hard to see, but something about it all made Max feel uncomfortable. _Am I…jealous? Should I go back and let them have their moment in the moonlight?_

Max looked back at the bonfire and the party where Victoria was waiting for her. When she looked back Chloe and her partner were gone. It didn't feel right. _Shit._

Max continued to walk towards the place where she had last seen them. She strained her eyes and ears and she managed to pick up some faint sounds and movement from up ahead. _What's going on? What are they doing?_

Max inched nearer, not wanting to interrupt their intimacy, but she couldn't shake her feeling of unease. She saw them now, lying on the ground, Elliot on top and Chloe below, barely visible under Elliot's bulk. _Oh, they are just making out…Or are they?_

Looking closer, Max felt chills run up and down her spine. She could clearly see Chloe struggling furiously, but Elliot was many times bigger, and she didn't stand a chance. He had her pinned to the ground and was all over her body and her face with his hands and his kisses. Filled with rage, Max rushed forward without thinking. "Hey! Get off her, you creep! Get off!" she shouted with a strength that surprised her.

Elliot paused, and then rolled off of Chloe. He looked up at Max in dismay. "What the hell? You?"

"Yes, the hell, me! Now get the hell out of here!"

He stared at her darkly, but then seemed to change his mind and stumbled away drunkenly. Chloe swore loudly as she sat up and wiped at her face and brushed sand and pieces of dried seaweed off of her clothes and out of her hair. Max stood still. Her heart was racing in her chest and adrenaline rushed through her blood vessels making them feel like steam pipes about to burst.

Chloe's voice sounded rough and contrived as she said, "Thank you most graciously for your assistance, young miss, but I can take care of myself now from here on…" Her blue eyes went huge as she slowly recognized who was standing before her. Mouth gaping almost comically in disbelief, it was a good long minute before she finally made an audible sound. "M-Max?"


	4. Chapter 3

They stared at each other in silence.

"My gosh, Max! You're all grown up and shit."

"You too. I like your hair. It's blue." Max's voice disappeared in a whimper, and she flung herself into Chloe's arms.

"Woah, woah, hey there, hippie, I'm happy to see you too. That was a pretty intense moment, sure, but I am fine. No need to cry, right?"

Max wanted to bawl in Chloe's arms, but with a heroic effort she managed to restrain herself. Sniffling, she stepped back, but kept her hands on Chloe's shoulders. "Oh, Chloe, I-I-I have missed you so much! Y-You would never believe!"

"Really? It sure hasn't seemed that way from my point of view." Chloe leaned away from her and looked a bit grumpy, but then she relaxed and smiled a small smile. "But of all the times you could've shown up, this was a pretty good one. I'm glad you did." Chloe gave her a mock frown and pointed at her accusingly. "I'd also say that you could've hurried up a little bit more, but…oh no, don't cry again. What's the matter with you? Come on, pirates don't cry! Oh gawd, Max, you always were the mushy one."

"I am so sorry, Chloe," squeaked Max, trying to suppress the sobs that fought their way up her throat while she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I don't know what to say…"

"Ah forget it, we'll always be Max and Chloe, right? You're back now, that's what matters." She looked at Max. "You _are_ back, right? For real?"

"Yes…" Max sniffled. "I am back. For real."

Chloe closed in on Max and looked her in the eyes. She grabbed her shoulders and squeezed gently. "That brings true joy to this girl's heart. But! There has to be an end to all this namby-pamby crying, Max. We can't have that. You're acting like I'm back from the dead or something."

Instantly, Max's face scrunched together and tears began to well up in her eyes again as she failed to suppress long wailing sobs. With a bewildered look, Chloe reached out and took the petite girl in her arms, and this time Max couldn't hold it back any longer. She cried her heart out while Chloe held her there among the moonlit dunes by the Arcadia Bay beach. All the while, Chloe awkwardly tried to comfort her with pats, strokes, and mumbled phrases. "Oh my, oh my, all hail the royal spankin' queen of mush…"

After quite a while, Max calmed down and they sat down beside each other on an old, gray driftwood log, half buried in sand and reedy grass. Max dared to lean her head against Chloe's shoulder, and she didn't seem to mind.

"Are you okay now?" Chloe asked in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

"Yes, thank you. Sorry for being such a wuss." Max tried a smile.

"Sure, Max Payne-in-my-ass, just don't do it again." Chloe smiled and bumped Max gently with her shoulder.

Max inched even closer to Chloe. "What's the thing with you and Elliot by the way? He, like, assaulted you!"

"You know Elliot?" Chloe looked at her in surprise.

"Nah, we've met, that's all." Max turned her head away.

"I can tell by your look that you know him as well as anybody would want to know him." Chloe looked out at the sea and sighed. "We had a 'thing' going a while ago, if you catch my drift. He was way more into me than vice versa, I think. And he, well, he punched my v-card so to speak, and now he thinks he's entitled or some shit." Chloe's body stiffened a little. "He isn't always a jerk. Only when it counts."

"You mean you and he…" Max's voice trailed off.

"Yeah, we fucked. That's, like, an essential part of losing one's virginity, you know. But it was years ago, and it wasn't a romantic bed of roses, lit candles, white silk sheets kind of moment, if you know what I mean. Actually, it was pretty gross. I hope you had a better first time."

"I… I haven't really..."

Chloe turned and looked at her with eyes full of surprise and some mirth. "What are you saying, Max? Are you still a shining white virgin? The fair chaste maiden of the castle?" Chloe gave her a feigned disapproving look. "You mean, you've never played at the home base?"

Max cheeks took a slightly pink color. "Yeah, I guess that's what I mean."

"Really? Third base, then?"

"Heh, nope."

"Second?"

"Nay, captain." Max smiled awkwardly.

"Oh my god, Max, first base? Not even kissed!" Chloe stared flabbergasted at her.

"Eeh…" _This can get complicated to explain…_

"What the fuck, Max!" Max wasn't sure Chloe's upset face was for real or just for show. Maybe both?

"Well, hmm, yes, actually I _have_ kissed."

"Thank the lord for that! You had me really worried for a second. So, pray tell, who is the handsome prince? The famous first kiss!"

"Actually, I don't want to talk about it."

"That bad, huh?" Chloe tilted her head and looked at her with an eyebrow cocked.

"In a way, yes…" Max stole a glance back at Chloe whose pale skin shimmered softly in the moonlight. Her eyes were big and dark in the night, and her mouth's gentle curves looked incredibly kissable. _Except kissing you was fucking perfect, if not for the totally shitty circumstances._ Max tried not to think any more of that moment, when the freak storm had turned straight at the town, and everything that had happened after. She didn't have to feign a bad mood.

Chloe gave her a peculiar look. "Okay, okay, I get it. Let's not talk about it."

Feeling relieved, Max watched Chloe closely, trying to come to grips with her best friend being alive and well. This beautiful, lovely, blue-haired girl, who sure had her issues but in Max's heart had become so much more than a friend, was truly alive. The problem was of course that in this reality Chloe had no idea of Max's feelings for her, and Chloe was most certainly in love with Rachel. Rverything pointed to that. She had to talk to Chloe about it, but she didn't know how. Just looking at Chloe made her want to cry again. Her chest hurt with longing for Chloe, to hug her again, to kiss her.

"Hey, Max, what's with the funny look?" Chloe asked.

Max cheeks reddened and she thanked the darkness of night. "Chloe, do you remember our time capsule we buried in your backyard a long time ago? In that, you said we would live together in our own house when we got older, remember? I…I want to do that, for real. I mean, live together, you and me. It's hard to explain, and it must feel strange to you, but the truth is that I love you, Chloe. I love you with all my heart, as one adult to another. I think I have always loved you, and I always will. I am so sorry for not being here when you needed it, but I promise you I will never leave you again. I have tried life without you, and, you know, it was just horribly unbearable. I just can't do it. Now I know I'd rather die than be without you, and I would die for you. Do you understand? I love you more than anything, Chloe."

That's what Max wanted to say, instead she said, "I think I am a bit cold. Maybe we could go for a walk?"

Chloe smacked her hands down on the old log. "Sure, I'm done with this party anyway. Let's bounce."

Max snuck in under Chloe's arm to supposedly get some protection against the wind and the cold and wasn't met with any objections. They began walking towards the lighthouse out of old habit, a habit Max hadn't acquired in this reality. _No, I can't go there. I'm not ready yet._ "Let's go to the pier instead. Can we?" she asked with a shudder.

Chloe squeezed her shoulder to protect her from the chill. "Aha, you mean the pirate port of Tortuga Bay?" Chloe's smile was white in the dark, her eyes teasing. "Okay, we can do that."

They turned and started to walk in the other direction. The waves hit the beach in a slow, familiar beat, bringing with it the salty and musty scent of rotting seaweed to their noses. How many times had they walked this way, just the two of them? It was too many to count, but oddly this time it felt like they were walking here for the very first time. It was a strange feeling.

"Do you remember when our parents forbid us from going out on the pier on our own? Of course, we did it anyway," Max said, glancing up at Chloe. "To look at 'pirate ships,' but there are almost no fishing boats left now it seems."

"None really, the Prescotts have bought the harbor. They plan to make a marina out of it. Beats me who will come here sailing in their fancy yachts though. People here won't be able to afford it, for sure."

They continued to talk along the way, and in many ways, it felt almost like old times. After just a couple of minutes, Chloe fell into her old habits effortlessly. Max had to bite her tongue several times not to reveal things she really shouldn't know, small bits and pieces here and there, such as Chloe getting kicked out of school and about Joyce and David. But it didn't escape Chloe.

"You seem to know an awful lot of me and my doings! Who's the snitch? Rachel?"

"No, Rachel and I have barely met. Actually, I don't think she likes me very much…"

"Don't be ridiculous! She'll fucking adore your nerdy ass once you let her under that blasé hipster crust. I'm sure of it. Just wait and see." Chloe seemed very confident, but of course Max wasn't as sure.

"You think I'm blasé?"

"Well, your clothes just scream 'I don't care,'" Chloe said with a grave look that just had to be phony. It made Max laugh. She could see Chloe lighten up at her laugh, just like old times. Chloe always found ways to make her laugh.

"But I like my clothes!" Max protested with an equal amount of fretful phoniness.

Chloe scoffed and shook her head. "That's the alarming part. Maybe, just maybe, there is still time for you to be saved though. But I am not sure."

"Oh, Chloe, you are such a dork!" Max said laughing and pushed Chloe lightly in the side.

"Hippie," Chloe answered back with a playful push.

They walked side by side along the waterfront until they came to the Arcadia Bay piers. They were closed off with a big fence, warning trespassers of dire penalties. "Fucking Prescotts." Chloe grumbled under her breath while she looked for a way to get through the obstructions.

"Maybe we should just turn back?" Max looked over her shoulder to the sleeping town behind. A glimmer of light shown here and there, but the town was mostly dark. It seemed wholly at peace in the night.

"No way! Would a pirate turn back just because some of the crown's minions had put up a little barricade?" She pushed and shoved until a sizeable gap opened between two fence posts. "That's not going to stop us. This way."

They slid through and sneaked out onto the big empty concrete jetty. By the time they reached the furthest end of the pier. the wind had grown pretty strong and the waves had become wilder and louder. They sat down close together, dangling their feet over the edge, drops of water spraying over them as a particularly large wave hit the breakers. They were silent, but it was a comfortable silence. Max thought back on what they had talked about just minutes ago. She knew she had to ask, even if she really didn't want to know.

"Chloe, can I ask you about…what…what about you and Rachel?"

"What about us?" Chloe turned from the sea and faced her. Max urged her to continue with a look and a nod. "Well, we met a couple of years ago, at Blackwell. I was really deep in the shit there for a while, with school and...and Dad, and you bailing on me, and everything. Oh man, I was such a mess." Chloe shook her head with a sad smile. "But when I met Rachel so many pieces fell into place. Without her, I don't know where I would be today. Actually, she's the reason I got kicked out of school…"

Max raised her eyebrows.

"Hmm, that sounded kinda wrong." Chloe let out a small laugh. "Well, maybe she made me finally make the decision to quit, something I should have done a lot earlier really."

 _Really? But…you love school. You were the class genius for Pete's sake!_ But, Max could sense a change in her. Chloe's posture straightened up, her voice sounded happier, and her eyes shone with a new light when she talked about Rachel.

"You love her," Max said, looking away. She felt a bitter taste in her mouth, but she refrained from spitting into the ocean. Instead, she swallowed it down, which made her feel slightly nauseous.

"I…do." Chloe was clearly uncomfortable putting her feelings into words. She continued with a soft voice, almost inaudible over the crash of the waves. "She showed me what real love is like, and she loves me too. I know some peeps talk shit about her, but no one knows her like I do. She's the only one who makes me feel, like, whole? And she needs me for grounding, definitely." She smiled inwardly. "We've been through some tough shit together. We need each other."

Max felt her heart sink down to her ankles _. I am happy for you, Chloe. I really am. But what am I supposed to do? I can't leave you again. I just won't. But I am not sure I can stand looking at you two together. My heart will break into so many pieces. What the hell am I going to do now?_ She suddenly felt acutely sick to her stomach.

Chloe, totally unaware of Max's mood change, searched her coat pockets and fished up a crumpled package of cigarettes and a lighter. Chloe tried again and again to light the cigarette, but the wind constantly blew out the flame. "We have big plans, you know. We are going to leave this place soon. Bye-bye, Bay." She formed her hand into a gun and fired a shot in the general direction of the town. "We've been saving money for a long time. Well, Rachel has. My money always seems to vanish somehow. I blame these." She waved her unlit cig in the air. "But I have a plan to remedy that."

Chloe shielded the cigarette from the wind with her left hand, while she tried to set fire to the tip. This time it worked. Max looked at Chloe with a worried face. "A plan? What plan?" she asked. "Quit smoking?"

Chloe laughed and took a long drag from her cigarette, and then smiled mysteriously and winked. "Sorry, I can't tell you, or I would have to kill you." She blew out smoke and put the cigarette back into her mouth, smiling. "Dob shegred shtuff. Bud id will defimidely sholve my momedajy defischid."

A chill swept along Max's spine. "Solve your what?"

"My monetary deficit," said Chloe, flicking ash from the cigarette away into the wind.

 _Oh no, Chloe, I have a really bad feeling about this. Please, no dangerous and daring plans, please, please… you may be smart, but you are not a criminal mastermind by a long shot. Why is it that you always get yourself into trouble?_

"Oookay…" Max tried to not sound too incredulous. "Nothing illegal, I hope. And where will you go when you get your money? California? L.A.?"

"L.A., baby! Spot on, you fucking psychic!" Chloe seemed very impressed by Max's "guess."

"Rachel will get into modeling, theatre, movies, or whatever. She will make it. I'm absolutely positively sure she will." Chloe's face shone with delight. "She's unbelievable smart, and have you seen her acting? She is just incredible. And she can sing too! AND she is gorgeous. Check, check, and check!"

"And check, I guess? Sounds great, Chloe," Max said, but her voice didn't share Chloe's excitement. "And what will you do? In L.A., I mean?"

"Me? Oh, I will just hang around, be her permanent party groupie, kind of." Chloe sounded carefree, but Max was sure she heard something else there.

Just hang around? There has to be something you'd want to do besides hanging."

Chloe looked back at her, silent for a moment, smoking.

"Nah, I try not to think too far ahead. Tomorrow is fine, or whatever."

 _Really, Chloe?_ "Aha. And…how do you feel about her other…groupies?" Max asked. Max tried to put it gently, but the question had to be asked. Chloe blew a stream of smoke into Max's face which made her cough and turn away her head. "Ugh, Chloe! Gross!"

"Well, we don't own each other, if that's what you mean." She gave Max an irritated glance, "She can do whatever she wants, and I can do whatever I want. I know she will never leave me though."

Max looked back at Chloe, nodding silently.

A phone buzzed. They both reached for their pockets and fetched their phones. It was Max's phone that had sounded. She activated it and read the text. "Oh shit! I forgot about Victoria!"

"Victoria? Victoria Chase?" Chloe asked, surprised, while putting her phone back in her pocket.

"Uh-huh," Max said while reading the message on her phone.

"You are friends with that mean, snobby bitch?" Chloe's voice went edgy.

"Well, kind of." Max tried to sound vague. "I think she's actually having a rough time. That's why she behaves the way she does."

"Yeah, yeah, boo-hoo, sad face, and all that shit, but no one is throwing _her_ out of school for having life issues. I guess some people are treated better than others." Chloe's face turned moody.

Max put her phone away and tried to steer the conversation elsewhere. "I'll explain to her later." She scooted over to Chloe and leaned against her for warmth. "Now, I am wet, chilled to the bone, and hungry. There's nothing open at this hour, right?"

"Oh no, sis, this isn't the queen city of Seattle," Chloe said with a laugh as she put an arm around Max's shoulders. "We have to make do with what we got here in the outback. Well, we actually have "Up All Nite Donuts", _open 24 hours a day_ according to the sign. But they close at midnight. I guess you are not too keen on breaking and entering, so your place or mine?"

"Hmm, I don't have much to eat in my room to be honest. There are always the vending machines in the hall I suppose…"

Chloe made a face and threw her cigarette butt out into the sea, drawing a glowing line of falling sparks in the darkness before it was swallowed by the waves. "That's not good enough for my girl! But Mom is probably stocked. My place it is then." Chloe rose and offered a helping hand to Max. They wandered back to the shore side-by-side, leaving the gap in the fence wide open as they left.

They parked Chloe's gnarly old truck down the street and walked the last stretch to the house. As silently as possible, they unlocked the door and entered the homely hallway. It was very nice to finally get inside, away from the cold night. It felt all too familiar to Max.

With hushed voices and some suppressed giggles, they slipped into the kitchen. Chloe rummaged through the cupboards and the refrigerator. "Score. Leftover pancakes. A huge pile," she whispered. "We can eat them cold, right?" Chloe pointed at a cupboard. "Bring the syrup and a couple of forks, and we're good to go."

They tiptoed up the stairs to Chloe's room as stealthily as they could, both knowing exactly which creaky stair steps to avoid, and sat down on Chloe's bed to share the plate of pancakes, which Chloe completely drenched in syrup. It felt strangely good being back in Chloe's messy bedroom again. Max sat chewing in silence, thinking back to all the times she had been here before, both a long time ago, and more recently, in a time that never came to pass. So much was different now, yet so much was the same. It was a much happier Chloe in this timeline, for sure, and at the same time, it probably made for a much sadder Max. Well, she wouldn't have it any other way. Her time travel abilities had been gone for almost a week now, and that was how she wanted it to be. She wanted to forget the other timelines and just live in the now, a new beginning without all this supernatural crap that had been following her like a curse, where every decision she made turned out to make it all worse in the end. She felt a big relief thinking that all this was just an ordinary life with ordinary people making ordinary choices in an ordinary world, no murder mysteries, kidnappings, suicide attempts, or crap like that.

Chloe had finished her pancakes and sat watching her with her head tilted. "Hey, Max, I was thinking, let's have a sleepover. Just like old times? And you can say hello to Mom tomorrow. It'll be a nice surprise. It's going to be a bit cramped, sure, but it'll be all right." She patted the mattress beside her. "Rachel crashes here sometimes. I don't mind butting ass with her, and I won't with you either for that matter." Chloe took a mock solemn expression. "Max, you are from here on one of my very few exclusively licensed ass-butterers! Feel honored!"

 _Very funny, Chloe…_ "Sounds great, I would like that. And I'm way too tired to walk up to Blackwell now." Max let out a big yawn. "I'll just pee, and maybe I can borrow your toothbrush?"

Chloe flopped down on the bed and rolled to her side, looking up at Max with half-closed eyes. She burped loudly, and then said "Ugh. If you must, you must…"

When Max returned from the bathroom, Chloe was already in bed with an ash tray balanced on her chest and smoking a spliff. She waved the cigarette when Max entered. "My sleeping medicine, hope you don't mind." She patted the bed beside her. "Come here, Max, let's chill out. You can grab one of my t-shirts as sleepwear if you like."

Max took a t-shirt from Chloe's drawers, changed quickly, and then snuggled down under the covers. It was warm and cozy, and she could feel how tired she was. Her legs ached a little after the long walk. Max turned and lay on her side to watch Chloe as she smoked and slowly drifted away into sleep. When she started to snore softly, Max carefully removed the still glowing cigarette stub from her lax fingers and put it out on the empty syrupy plate. And when she was absolutely sure Chloe was deep asleep, she brushed away some strands of blue hair from Chloe's face and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

 _I'm here now, Chloe, and I'll be watching over you. I won't let anything bad happen to you now, I promise. If you won't let me be your girlfriend, then at least let me do this for you._

Max awoke to the sound of a familiar doorbell ringing, the same doorbell she herself had pressed a thousand and one times before. Downstairs, footsteps came from the kitchen, or maybe the living room, and out into the hall. The door opened and faint voices were heard from below.

"Good morning, Mrs. Price."

"Well, good morning, Rachel. Aren't you the early bird!"

"Hah, no, I'm the very late bird, I'm afraid. Is Chloe home?"

"I haven't seen her today, but I think she's still in her room. I heard her saw some really thick gourds earlier."

Rachel giggled.

"Why don't you go upstairs and tell her breakfast is almost done, if she's not indisposed? Of course, you are welcome at the table too, dear."

Max felt her stomach churn in distress. _Rachel_. _This could get complicated…_ She shook Chloe who lay on her back, arms and legs splayed out, snoring. "Chloe. Chloe, wake up. You've got company downstairs."

"Uhh, w-what?" Chloe looked sleepily at her, and then her sky-blue eyes widened. "Max..?" A genuine smile formed on her drowsy face. She stretched, almost pushing Max off the bed in the process.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Max bopped her nose more tenderly than intended. "I think Rachel is downstairs."

"Rachel!" Chloe jumped up from the bed, shooting her a mischievous look.

"Okay, Max, stay there. Don't move!"

She pulled on a pair of green sweatpants and disappeared through the door in one swift motion. Max heard her thundering down the stairs. _I'm not going anywhere, you goof. Never again, you can be sure of that._

"Mornin', Rachel," Max heard Chloe's muffled voice from the hall downstairs.

"Chloe Price! C'mere you!"

They went silent. Hugging? Kissing?

"You left early yesterday. You all right? Something happen?"

"Yes, you can fucking say that!" Chloe paused dramatically. "Rachel, there is someone I want you to meet."

"Oh, really? Now I am intrigued…"

Steps from two pairs of feet could be heard coming up the stairs. _Oooooh crap, here it comes. Max, wake up, time to die._


	5. Chapter 4

Max felt very naked and vulnerable in Chloe's bed. She pulled the blanket up to her eyes, wishing she could drag it up all the way over her head, but that would've been just too weird. She didn't need weird right now, quite the opposite. _Oh darn, what am I doing?_

She sat up in bed and put the covers over her bare legs, smoothed out the wrinkles on it, and tried to look normal. Seconds later, Rachel and Chloe stormed in. Rachel stopped in the doorway, making Chloe bump into her back. She crossed her arms and gave Max a very unwelcoming stare. "Oh…hello, _Maxine_ …"

"Call her Max, never Maxine," said Chloe, steering Rachel into the room. Then she looked between the two girls with an arched eyebrow and a hand on her hip. "Sooo, you two have already met?"

"Yes." Rachel's mouth stiffened into a thin line. "I gave Maxine, Max, a bit of a whipping last week for bailing out on you and everything. I don't think I told you." She gave Chloe an inquiring look, but Chloe just grinned back. Rachel continued, "Maybe I overdid it. Sorry about that, Max." It didn't look like she meant it one bit.

Chloe smiled broadly while putting her arm around Rachel's shoulders and gesticulating with her other. "Aha, well, we've also had that talk. Me and Max are cool now."

"Really?" Rachel cocked her head and gave Chloe a surprised glance. "Well, then I guess I have to be cool with it too." Still, Rachel gave Max a pretty doubtful look. "Joyce has breakfast ready, by the way. I'll go down and put out an extra plate while you two get dressed, okay?"

When Rachel left, Chloe fell onto the bed beside Max laughing, trying her best to keep the volume down. After a while, she caught her breath. "Oh man, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Chloe, what…how did you know?" Max couldn't decide if she should be angry or just relieved that it had all went well, considering the alternatives. She put a hand on her throat.

"Aw, Max, don't be silly." Chloe grinned. "The look on your face when we came in, it was priceless! Yesterday, the way you talked about Rachel gave you away. Usually people are jealous or just gush over her; you actually seemed to be…concerned." She winked at her, eyes twinkling, and then gripped Max's shoulder with a firm hand. "Don't worry, Max, she'll warm up to you. Now, get your gear on so we can go give Mom a little surprise!"

Max sat up and began to put on her jeans and t-shirt. "Okay, but no more tricks, Chloe. Please?".

"Max Caulfield! Not in a week of seven Sundays… Come here, give me a hug!"

"Hello, Joyce," Max said as she disappeared into Joyce's embrace. She felt very relieved that Joyce seemed happy to see her. In the back of her mind, she had actually worried about that for a long time. Clad in a green and gold housecoat and looking a bit more tired than Max was used to seeing her, Joyce smiled welcomingly, and Max felt her worries wash away. She felt at once at ease and at home, as she always had before. It was a marvelous feeling being back in Joyce's kitchen again. The smell of fried bacon and freshly brewed coffee didn't make things worse either. Max couldn't believe she had avoided coming back here for so many years. Why? She couldn't remember any longer. But as Chloe had said yesterday, she was here now, and that was what mattered.

"Let me look at you, Max," Joyce said, pushing her back at arm's length. "Oh my, you've grown to become quite the handsome lady!"

Chloe groaned from somewhere behind her. "Mom! Enough with the goopy stuff already, I'm hungry!"

"Hungry, indeed?" Joyce turned her head and gave Chloe a stern look. "Seems like _someone_ ate quite a lot of pancakes last night. More specifically, _all_ of our Saturday breakfast pancakes."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Joyce!" Max blushed. "We didn't know…"

Rachel looked between Max and Chloe, an involuntary little smile on her face as she shook her head slightly.

Joyce laughed. "Not a problem, Max. You are so welcome. Here, have some bacon and eggs instead." She ushered the three girls to the small breakfast table, now almost cramped when set for five. "You must've been starved, eating that tall heap between just the two of you." She looked over Max's small frame with a mock worried face. "You are not big-boned, that's for sure, never were." Then she said to everyone, "Now, let's eat. Anyone for coffee? Toast?"

They had just started eating when David entered the kitchen, looking at the three girls at the table in surprise, but soon his face took on a sour expression. "What is this? Do we really have to feed all the stray cats in Arcadia Bay?" he grumbled. "And where are the pancakes, Joyce?"

"Don't be like that, David," Joyce said. "It's Chloe's friends, and they are always welcome here."

Max looked up at David. "Hello, Mr. Madsen," she said carefully.

David stared back at her, searching his memory. "Maxine, is it? I am surprised to find you here."

"Just Max, actually."

"Why the surprise?" Chloe interrupted, "Isn't she enough of a screw-up to be my friend? Or, maybe it is that not everyone I hang out with is a loser, a crook, or a drug dealer that surprises you."

Max noticed how Rachel squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. David sighed. "No, Chloe, it was just that I didn't know you two moved in the same circles, that's all."

"Like you know everything, yeah. Max is a diligent student while I'm the hopeless snafu, of course we could never meet."

"Chloe, please…" Joyce tried, and then turned to David. "Max is an old friend of the family, and we are very happy that she is back in Arcadia Bay, after many years away. "

David gave Max a suspicious look. "I see. Well, I want no trouble under my roof. No illegal activities, no drinking, no drugs, understand?"

"What the fuck?" Chloe leaned back in her chair and threw her arms up in exasperation.

"And no foul language, Chloe! I just want her to know the rules!"

"Dude, you can't just come here and make up rules for me _or_ my friends. This isn't even your house!"

"You are wrong! As head of this family, I have the responsibility to…" David raised his voice, tensing up.

"Screw you and your responsibilities, dickhead. I don't give a shit about what you think your role here is." Chloe's stance was pure defiance, leaning back on her chair nonchalantly, arms akimbo. Was this just a game for her? To Max, it seemed she enjoyed it well enough.

"Chloe, damnit! Language! And as long as you live here…" David's face turned red as he stood up shaking his index finger at Chloe.

"Aaaaand that won't be for long, sucker! Can't wait to leave this fucking fascist camp." Chloe rose to her feet while pushing away her half-eaten plate. "Sorry, Mom, I'm not hungry anymore." She turned and stomped away, giving David the finger on her way out.

David yelled after her. "Yeah, run away, Chloe, as you always do! But some day you _will_ need to…" They heard the front door open and slam closed, hard. Shaking with anger, David still stood up at the table.

Max made a decision, and then turned to Rachel, who sat looking like she wished she were somewhere else, and whispered, "Can you follow her? I need to stay and talk to Joyce and David for a minute. I'll catch up with you later."

Rachel raised an eyebrow, but she did as Max asked. She said her thanks for the breakfast, admittedly a bit awkwardly, and then excused herself and left the room in a trot.

When both Chloe and Rachel had left, there was silence around the breakfast table. David sat down, red in the face, fists trembling, and Joyce looked like she was about to cry at any second. Max stared down at her eggs and bacon. They were very tasty indeed, but she had lost her appetite. She knew what she ought to do, what she had even planned to do, but this was absolutely not in her ballpark of experience. Not even close.

"I am so sorry that you had to hear that, Max." Joyce put her face in her hands. "Chloe is…Chloe has…" She rubbed her eyes and temples as if she was very tired. Max put a hand on Joyce's arm. "I know, Chloe has her ups and downs, so to speak."

"She seemed so happy earlier this morning. I don't understand." Joyce's voice wavered.

Max took a deep breath. She could feel both David's and Joyce's eyes on her. Her cheeks began to heat up. _Ok, here we go._ "Maybe we should talk about Chloe, and her…problems?"

"What do you mean, dear?" Joyce looked up, surprised.

"I mean, I can tell you how I see it, from my point of view. Maybe even give you some advice?" Joyce and David looked at each other, clearly baffled. _Damn, maybe this was the wrong way to go about it_.

David, looking sullen, pushed back his chair. ."What's the use?" he asked. "We have already tried everything."

David started to get up, but Joyce reached out and gently pulled him down onto his chair again. "Sit down, David, please." She turned to Max, a small glimmer of hope in her eyes. "So, tell us what you think, Max."

"Wait, Joyce, Do you really mean Max here knows what to do? There is no way in h-, I-I mean she met Chloe just yesterday. What does she know?"

"Shhh, just let her speak. Max?" Joyce gave her a small encouraging nod. David sat down with his arms crossed, glaring at Max angrily. It was clear he only did this because of the hopeful look on Joyce's face.

Max hesitated. It felt wholly unnatural for her to speak to Joyce and David like this, but as she saw it, no other alternative existed. There was no time travel any more, no shortcuts, no trial and error. If she wanted to change things, she had to do it all by herself, the old fashioned way, with the magic of words. _Uh, too bad I totally suck at this._

There was another type of silence now, an expectant one. Joyce and David sat there looking at her, waiting for her to speak her words of "wisdom" and to hopefully make everything good again. At least that was what Max felt. This was something right out of her worst nightmare. Well, actually she had lived through worse nightmares and survived, but there was no point in prolonging this. She cleared her throat. "Well, first, you have to promise not to tell Chloe about this conversation. I think she would go absolutely bonkers and leave a trail of destruction in her wake if she knew."

Both David and Joyce nodded. They could probably picture the scene. Max continued, "Okay, as you know, Chloe isn't very talkative, at all. She has always had problems expressing what she feels, good or bad."

David looked skeptically at her. "She does? I think she makes her feelings quite clear."

"Well, yes, but not what she really has inside her. Her anger is just a cover of sorts. It was her go-to reaction after William's crash. It is like an "attack is the best defense" sort of thing. I don't mean she isn't angry, but her anger makes it easier for her to hide the other stuff. The more important stuff." Max breathed out. This was hard, though not as hard as she had feared. At least they both listened to her.

"What other important stuff?" Joyce asked, looking quizzical.

"I believe there's a lot going on inside her," Max said. "But I think the main thing is that she feels like she destroys or screws up everything she does or has, even with the best of intentions, and she has felt like that for a long time. School, friends, you, Joyce, and even you, David."

"Me? I doubt it!" David looked even more skeptical now. "She flunked school because it was too hard or didn't suit her, and she feels guilty about it, for Joyce, or herself even. I get that. But to blame everything on the death of William, or even you moving, Max, I think that is…"

"Actually, I think that it is perfectly reasonable, David." Max had to force her words out of her mouth, but she had to continue, and luckily the words came. "You don't know her from before. School was never hard for her. Chloe is the smartest person I've ever known, you know? She was a straight-A student before her life kind of fell apart."

David looked absolutely flabbergasted.

"It's true, David, she really was." Joyce looked sad. "Chloe used to love school, especially science class. Haven't I told you?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"And friends were never a problem before she started going to school with the rich kids at Blackwell," Max continued. "They were really mean to her, I think. They made her feel excluded, and whenever there was a conflict, the teachers always took a side against her and saw her as a troublemaker, just because she came from a poor background. Sorry, Joyce." Max shot her a quick glance. "I think it made Chloe lose faith in school, in society, and even in herself. And she was already in a bad state, with William's death and me moving away. That's what I think at least."

"Well, it's the truth, Max. Sad, but true," Joyce said, shaking her head in dismay. "Getting her into Blackwell was a big mistake. I should've done more for her. I really should've."

"Oh, Joyce, you had your plate full. You did what you could. None of this is your fault, or Chloe's. I know for a fact that she loved going to Blackwell before she got into trouble with her peers."

David sat in thought for a while. Then he sighed. "I had no idea. The truth is, I saw myself in her. Too much, I think." He shook his head. "I never went to any fancy schools, but I struggled a lot with schoolwork and with the teachers. My family didn't take it well, and neither did I, to be honest. Deep down, it was all my fault, but the lord knows I could've used a firmer hand to keep me on the right track."

Max could see that this was hard for David to speak about. He looked very tense, but also determined. David continued with his fists clenched in his lap. "All these problems I had, it made me feel worthless, and I ended up lashing out at everyone and got myself into trouble so many times, both in and outside of school. I got lucky though. In the end, it was the army that saved me from my destructive life, with discipline, routines, and camaraderie. The structure helped to restore my self-worth and sense of purpose." He splayed out his hands. "I thought that maybe what worked for me would work for Chloe too. But, as you know, it hasn't so far."

"Oh no, David," Max said, putting a hand on his, hoping she ehadn't taken it too far, "Chloe is not a soldier, far from it, and soldier-style talk will never work on her, I believe. She is a… a pirate at heart, whether we like it or not. She loves being the underdog, to stick it to the man, especially if she feels an injustice has been done."

David scoffed. "Yeah, that's for sure. And she's good at it too, too good for her own good." He shook his head. "You should've heard some of the "conversations" we've had…"

"Yes, that hasn't made her life any easier, that's true, but that's what we have to work with." Max thought for a short while. "I would say she is a born mutineer, the total opposite of a disciplined soldier. She's a freebooter, a freedom-loving rebel, and the bad behavior and drugs and everything else are only symptoms, not the cause of all this. If we can solve the real problems, the other stuff will solve itself. I'm sure of it. I'll do my best to help her, even though I think she doesn't really want any help."

"I'm prepared to meet her halfway, always have been." David awkwardly clasped Max's hand on the table. "I have tried for years!"

"But Chloe isn't prepared to take even one tiny step in your direction, David, so you have to do all the walking by yourself, I'm afraid, at least for now. You guys have to be in this for the long haul, taking small steps whenever you can. I can't promise fast improvements, but I think this is the only way to go."

"Max! I can't believe this is the same Max I knew five years ago!" Joyce looked almost shaken. "And I can't believe you just met again yesterday! It seems you know so much about Chloe that even I don't."

"I know, Joyce, but Chloe and I talked a lot, hmm, yesterday. And I have had loads of time to think about this before. This is very important to me, I mean, Chloe is very important to me, however it may have seemed before." Max nearly let her voice tremble. "I cannot help but feel that many of her problems are my fault. If I had been around for her, everything would have been different. I can't fail her again. I just can't." She swallowed down a lump forming in her throat. "I have no doubt you want what's best for Chloe too. In fact, I am sure you do, both of you. But, I think you have gone at it the wrong way."

They were silent again until David said, "What do you suggest we do, Max? I am sorry, but I'm all out of ideas." He looked helpless, even small, his broad shoulders hunched.

"I think rules, harsh language, punishments, and stuff like that will only trigger her and make everything worse. Start with giving her space and let her come to you. Show Chloe that you accept her as she is and that you appreciate and love her, without being _too_ emotional, that's a given. Watch out for any talk about being sorry or understanding and stuff like that. She would hate it." Max smiled a little. "But what she does care about is if you are there when she needs you. She will probably never ask for help straight out, so you need to guess and use your judgment." Max looked thoughtfully at David, who looked back with an eager expression.

"But where do we begin? Is there something we can do to help her? Something she needs right now?" There was a hint of hope in David's voice.

"Hmm, that's a good question. Something smallish but still significant to begin with. What about, something…" Max tried to think of anything Chloe could need some help with, without being too close and personal. "What about…her truck?"

"Oh, that needs so much help it isn't even funny. I'm amazed she can keep it running month after month! Chloe is actually a really talented grease monkey, if she would just…"Max gave David a look, raising her eyebrows. "Oh, yes, well, she definitely needs to change the back tires on that wreck. They are totally worn out."

"So, if you can get her two new tires, no questions asked, no obligations, then that's maybe a pretty good start? Remember, turning the Chloe Price ship back to a safe harbor will take time, but in the end, it's just a series, albeit a long one, of small course changes in the right direction to get there, right?" _I hope, oh man, how I hope._

"Actually, I think I know where I can get hold of a pair of those. " David looked energized. "Not brand new, but of sufficient quality. I'll do it as soon as I've finished my coffee, which is now." He slammed a hand down on the table. Then pausing and turning to Joyce, he said, "But it will cost, Joyce, I hope you are okay with that."

Joyce, who had sat silent during most of the talk, looking more and more astonished, just nodded.

Hastening out from the Price-Madsen household and out into the still chilly morning, Max felt totally wrung out, dry in the throat, and empty-headed. She couldn't remember the last time she had talked that much, but she wanted to believe it wasn't all in vain. It had better be the start of something good, a new direction. She was First Mate Max gently piloting the ship Chloe Price to port, or something. She needed to locate Chloe. Max picked up her phone and discovered a couple of missed calls and a text message.

Victoria: _Max! Where the fuck are you! Just checked ur room. Plz msg me asap!_

Shit, she'd forgotten all about Victoria! Max jotted down a quick reply full of excuses, and then called Chloe.

Rachel answered. "Hey, Max, Chloe can't talk right now, she's busting."

"Busting?"

Rachel sighed loudly into the phone. "Skateboarding. We are at the park, down by the ice rink. You know where it is?"

"Oh sure, it's where Chloe and I took figure skating lessons ages ago. I'm on my way."

"Okay, cool…see you then." Rachel hung up in her ear.

 _Oh ,Rachel, how am I supposed to convince you that I am not a total fuckup?_ Deep in thought, Max slowly jogged along the streets towards the park.


	6. Chapter 5

The man, naked except for a finely decorated club slung in a strap over his tanned shoulder, comes walking out into the clearing. He carries two big baskets made of plaited strips of cedar, brimming with chokeberries, lingonberries, and cranberries he had collected during the morning. Fall would soon be upon them, and they needed to stock up on food of all sorts. He and his wife would spread out these berries on mattresses and leave them to dry in the afternoon sun.

He finds his young son sitting and playing outside their little plank house. He is a small boy, delicate even for his tender age, but his mind had always been strong. As he watches, a bright red and yellow tanager flies down and lands on top of the boy's head and begins to gently peck and pull at his long, black hair. The boy giggles happily, and it makes the man smile. His son has always had a strange connection with animals, especially birds. That is why they call him Little Bird. It is a blessing, no doubt about it. He just hopes that the bird will not poop on his head. It doesn't. They never do.

Suddenly, the boy rises, as if startled, and the bird flies away. He looks wide-eyed at his father and signs. Little Bird never speaks aloud, though he understands English and Salish, as well as a couple of other languages, perfectly. "White men are coming up the trail! Eight of them!"

The man doesn't understand how the boy could know things like that, but he knows enough by now to trust him. "Little Bird, run and fetch your mother, and then hide! Hurry!"

Little Bird runs back behind the house to where his mother sits, preparing to light the fire hole. A large glistening salmon, wrapped in herbs, is at her side ready to be cooked. At first, she is irritated by his urgency, but soon she understands the severity of it. Together, they rush to the front of the little house. Little Bird can hear the men approach on the trail that leads to their home. They will soon be here. He wiggles in through the door hole and hides beneath the sleeping blankets. The men come walking, silent as ghosts, and line up before his parents. He peers out beneath a blanket and can see most of them. They are grim men with shaggy chins. They wear broad hats, and carry rifles or shotguns in their hands. Little Bird can see them sizing up his father and looking with unabashed interest at his mother who is only clad in a short bark skin skirt, as is custom among their people, but these men apparently find it very noteworthy.

A large, burly man with a golden beard steps forward. Clad differently, wearing a neat suit and carrying a large pistol at his side, he stands out from the others d. Little Bird recognizes him. He had seen him and his father talk before, many days ago. He seemed angry then. Now he looks more irritated and sad than angry. Golden Beard speaks in a deep, gravelly voice that makes the hair stand on Little Bird's neck. "John, why are you here?"

"My name is not John. It never was. My name is Lkwalipks." His father raises his head proudly, though he is still a head shorter than the golden-bearded man in front of him.

"If you say so, I don't care about your savage ways and whatnot. What's important is you had until last month to move away, why didn't you?"

"It is not for you to decide. This is not your land!" His father thrusts out his arm and makes a wide sweeping circle.

"It is, and I have the paper to prove it. Golden Beard reaches inside his shiny-buttoned waistcoat and produces a piece of parchment that he unfolds unceremoniously and waves in front of Little Bird's father. "You know I am a man of my word, and what did I say would happen if you hadn't moved by now?"

His father doesn't shrink back from the big man's steely gaze. "You would chase us away and burn down our house. And you call _me_ a savage."

"It is my right by law. You are trespassing on my property." Golden Beard waggles the parchment one last time before folding it up and putting it back in his pocket. Then his hard eyes take an almost pleading look. "But you worked for me, John. Why? Why didn't you leave when I told you to?"

"Because this is not yours, whatever your paper says!" Little Bird can see his father's anger in his tense back and shoulders and clenched fists. "If you were an honorable man, you would see that too. Our people have lived here since before memories. This is holy land!"

Golden Beard laughs a deep hoarse laugh. "An honorable man you say? You have worked for me. You should know if I am an honorable man or not." The big man takes a step forward and puts both of his big calloused hands on his broad belt buckle. "The first loggers will arrive in a week. This forest is coming down. There _will_ be a town here."

"We stay!" his father hisses defiantly. "We will die here defending this land if need be. The spirits of the forest will protect us."

Golden Beard glowers at him for a long time, and then sighs and looks almost downcast. "You are a very foolish man, John, but as you wish." He gestures to the men standing beside him. "Okay, fire it up."

A lanky youth with long golden locks the same color as the big man's beard comes forward. A flame flickers from a bottle in his hand. His gray eyes shine with eagerness.

Little Bird's father yells and rushes toward the young man while unhooking his war club in a swift flowing movement. The golden-haired boy meets him halfway in a daring leap, dropping his burning flask to the grass as he does so. He grips the handle of the club with one hand while searching for the father's throat with the other. They wrestle furiously, and though his father is lean and muscular, the boy shows a surprising sinewy strength. But the boy is not fully grown and lacks in experience, and after a moment of struggle, Little Bird's father hooks a foot around the boy's leg and wrings him off balance, thrusting the butt of the club down in the boy's face and breaking his nose and smashing his lips hard with the dark wooden handle in the process. The boy yelps and releases his opponent. He staggers backwards with blood, already coloring his shirt a bright red, pouring down his face. His face a grimace of resolution, Little Bird's father swiftly raises his club to make a last forceful blow.

But the blow never falls. A gunshot echoes in the clearing, and Little Bird's father falls where he stands with a gaping hole in his chest. He lands heavily on the grass, dropping his war club and letting out a low moan as he hits the ground. Little Bird cries out silently, his heart cramping at the sight of his downed father. Tears begin to well up in his eyes. Golden Beard puts his revolver back into its holster and shakes his head with a mixture of disgust and disappointment.

Little Bird's mother is already on her way to her fallen husband. A rising wail of agony escapes her throat. On a sign from Golden Beard, a man with a big, black moustache steps forward and catches her in midflight. Many times stronger than the slim but wildly fighting woman, he holds her in a steady grip.

"Get on with it!" Golden Beard grumbles. And they do. Soon flames lick at the roof and walls of the little wooden house. The woman starts to struggle even more wildly, yelling and crying in a horrified voice. Golden Beard walks up to Little Bird's father, who is panting on the ground, bleeding out, and kneels down at his side. He looks the dying man straight in the eyes and cocks a bushy eyebrow. "What is she saying, John? I don't understand her gibberish."

Little Bird's father whispers in pain, every word a struggle, "Little…Bird, our boy, he is still…inside…"

"Well, that is just awful." Golden Beard rises up and yells at the flaming house, "Hey boy! Come out! We will not hurt you!"

Little Bird knows he is lying. He continues to call for help from his friends, but they are too far away, or maybe they are just not listening to him.

Golden Beard bends down leisurely and picks up the bottle the young man had dropped. It is still glowing. He blows carefully on the wick, and it bursts into flame again. "One last chance, boy! We don't have all day!"

But Little Bird doesn't move. After a count to ten, Golden Beard launches the burning bottle at the house. It goes through the door opening, shatters, and ignites the room inside. Everything fills with flames and hot, oily smoke. It burns Little Bird's lungs with every breath. _Where are you? I need your help, now!_

With a last furious effort, Little Bird's mother breaks free with a well-placed elbow to her captor's throat. She lunges forward, picking up the war club from the ground, and aims a terrible two-handed blow right down on the head of Golden Beard. Her stunned captor yells out a choked warning, and it saves him. He flinches, and the blow only glances off of Golden Beard's forehead, knocking his hat off his head and opening up a big gash on his brow. Golden Beard turns fast, draws his revolver, presses the pipe to her breast, and pulls the trigger. She trips over with a whimper and falls down on the dry grass, writhing in pain, just a couple of steps from her dying husband. Tears are streaming down Little Bird's cheeks, but he is silent and still.

The young man with the broken nose lets out an angry shout. "Dad! Why did you have to shoot her? We could've had a little fun with her first!"

Golden Beard quickly walks up to the youth while holstering his still smoking revolver and slaps him hard on the cheek. The golden-haired young man almost stumbles down to his knees from the force. "You call me _Mister Prescott_ like everybody else, or you will end up like them." Golden Beard seethes as he gestures to the bleeding man and woman at their feet. "Now finish this and get them in the ground. No fooling around this time."

The young man, cradling his cheek with his hand, nods meekly. "Yes, Mister Prescott."

The fire burns hot on the roof and walls of the little house and smoke fills up every corner. Little Bird, almost unconscious now, his arms and legs blistered by the heat, his hair already smoldering, with tears in his eyes evaporating as fast as they form, reaches inside and beckons the animals of the forest. Finally, they hear him. They answer him, and they are coming.

The planks of the cabin are fastened together by strings of twisted plant fibers. They burn off easily, and the little house creaks and wails before it crashes down in a cloud of sparks rising to the sky. The flames leap out in all directions, spreading fast to the surrounding grass, bushes, and trees, crackling and popping merrily. The men stand frozen in surprise as the flames quickly engulf the nature around them. Then wild animals come rushing through the fire and smoke. Elks, red deer, coyotes, foxes, even a beaver, and bears come. They storm right into the group of men, wreaking havoc with hoof and antler, tooth and claw.

Cornelius Abernathy Prescott fires his revolver again and again until it is empty. Around him, his men are fighting and dying horribly. They are smashed, gnawed, ripped, and stomped to death. The smoke stings his eyes and makes every breath painful to draw. What the devil is happening? Why did the animals run _against_ the fire instead of _from_ it? This must be some kind of witchery, but he doesn't have time to ponder. He has to survive and get away from this massacre, but there is nowhere to run. Cornelius Prescott is not one to shy away from an ugly death, of neither friend nor foe, but he is not planning to die himself just yet, not like this. Half in panic, he stumbles over something in the hazy smoke. It is the dead woman. Her dark eyes stare at him accusingly, and she is still clutching the war club in an outstretched hand. He reaches for the club, and he swings it. His powerful arms deliver devastating wounds to everything that comes his way—men or beasts, he doesn't care. Miraculously, he is able to smash his way through. With a final leap, he breaks free of the fire, and he runs.

As he flees down the winding forest path through the woods, his eyes wide and breathing hard, he hears the distant agonizing screams of his men. Among them is his oldest son. The smoke from the forest fire rises behind him like black ominous clouds, but he does not look back.


	7. Chapter 6

Almost out of breath, Max finally came trotting to the skate park. She didn't see Chloe and Rachel, and it worried her, unnecessarily for sure, but she didn't feel comfortable without Chloe within her reach or at least in sight. The park was not that big, but it was divided by some high yew hedges that, together with the ramps, pipes, and jumps, made the whole park a maze.

Max slowed down to a walk and tried to calm her breathing. Sweat clung to her scalp and brow after her jog, despite the chilly temperature. The sun was rising higher and spreading its warmth, chasing away the coldness from the air. Max wiped her forehead with a hand and it came away moist and sticky. _I really need to exercise more,_ she thought. _And a shower, my kingdom for a shower!_

Max navigated the park, which was empty of people at this early hour, except _supposedly_ for Rachel and Chloe. _What if Rachel tricked me? Maybe they are somewhere else completely?_ Max hastened her steps, almost running again.

To Max's relief, she heard a distant crash and someone cry out in frustration. "Damn it, you knob-headed, shit-fucking fucker of a fucking piece of shit!" It sounded like Chloe all right.

Max rounded a hedge and saw them, Chloe sitting on the bottom of a high ramp, cradling a knee, a red skateboard overturned just behind her, wheels still spinning, and Rachel, sitting on top of the ramp, legs dangling over the edge, looking down. Chloe, of course, was not wearing a helmet or any other protective padding. Max shook her head in slight irritation. _Of course._

"Are you okay, Chloe?" Max heard Rachel ask from above.

"Yeah, yeah, I am just so fucking clumsy," Chloe answered, grimacing as she continued to rub her kneecap. She had traded her trucker cap for a blue beanie, and the familiar look made Max feel warm inside.

With a small smile on her face, Max walked forward. "Hey guys," she said, announcing her presence. She stopped in front of Chloe and did a little wave of hand .

"Oh, the mysterious latecomer," Chloe said. She gave her a lopsided smile and stretched out her leg, wiggling her foot, testing it. "You just had to finish those eggs, right? They were that good?"

"I love Joyce's cooking, and I am not human before coffee." Max paused, a little unsure of how to continue. "But, I also had a little talk with them." She sat down beside Chloe, pulled her knees up to her chest, and folded her arms around them. She rested her chin on one knee while looking at her friend.

"Yeah, Rach mentioned it," Chloe said, giving her a sidelong glance, all the while flexing her leg. "So, what did you talk about? All tears and old memories?"

"Just catching up." Max could feel her face heat up. She was such a bad liar, and she wasn't sure she even needed to. But at this moment, it was probably a good idea. She wasn't sure how Chloe would react to her speaking to her parents on her behalf, with well-meaning or not. Yeah, for now, lying was probably the best way to go, but she hated lying to Chloe, or anyone for that matter. "It didn't feel right to just rush away without saying hi properly. I haven't seen Joyce since…since…you know."

Chloe gave her a dark look. "Yeah, I know."

Max shot a glance up at Rachel, who sat there in silence, looking down at them. Her face was expressionless, but Max felt judged nonetheless. She looked back at Chloe, who refused to meet her gaze. She had a hard time coming up with something to say in reply, so she remained silent.

Chloe finally broke the silence. "A smoke would be nice, you have some up there?" Rachel dug up a pack of cigarettes from her breast pocket and held it down towards her. "I'm coming up." With a couple of quick steps, Chloe ascended the steep ramp and climbed up on top of it. She sat down beside Rachel, grabbed a cigarette out of the package, and swung her legs over the edge. She lit it and took a deep inhale while staring out into the distance. After puffing out a series of big smoke signals, she looked down. "Hey, Max, why don't you join us up here? See some nice scenery and shit."

Max looked up. The ramp seemed to be quite high, at least ten feet or more. It was the highest in the park, no doubt. She looked hesitantly at the steep slope, then up at the two girls perched on top of it. "Okay…"

"Yo, Max, bring my board too, will ya?"

Max picked up Chloe's skateboard and backed away a couple of steps, then she lunged forward with all the speed she could muster. She made it about two-thirds up the ramp before slipping and sliding back down it. If she hadn't been carrying the skateboard in one of her hands she might have reached the edge, but now it was just impossible.

"Darn," she hissed under her breath. She backed away once more and ran up, but she didn't come any closer to reaching the top. This time she slammed her elbow on the edge of the skateboard when she fell. "Ow!"

Rachel looked down at her and tilted her head. "There's a ladder here on the side, you know," she said, her voice studiously inexpressive.

"Oh, thanks," Max answered, a lot more petulantly than she actually meant.

Rachel just raised her eyebrows at her. "Really?" the expression seemed to say.

Max looked away, feeling more miserable than ever. _Oh man, this is going straight to hell. Just how am I going to fix this?_ Max walked up to the side and climbed a few steps, mumbled a "sorry," and then handed the skateboard up to Rachel, who leaned down and took it with a crooked smile. Then she jumped back down to the ground, went back to the ramp, and took a lunge at it again. If she had climbed the ladder, she would have ended up with Rachel between her and Chloe, and that was not what she wanted right now. So, she ran up the ramp, and this time, she made it all the way to the top. Panting, Max climbed up beside Chloe and sat down.

Chloe smiled and gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Good move, Maxie. If you have two alternatives, choose the third, that's what I always say."

"You were right, there is quite a view from up here," Max said breathlessly. The park lay at the beginning of a gentle slope that more or less continued all the way down to the beach far below. Beyond roofs and roads, she could see the ocean, a bit of the harbor, and even the lighthouse on its cliff high up to the right.

"Told you so." Chloe raised a hand and pointed. "There's the Two Whales." Max strained her eyes, trying to follow Chloe's pointing finger. "You can barely see it, just the sign really," Chloe said. "And that way is the old wood mill. You can see the blackened roof over the trees there. It burned down a couple of years ago, in a forest fire." Chloe gave Rachel a quick look. Rachel was silent as she looked out over the ocean and smoked a cigarette, but she was clearly listening to their conversation.

"I thought the mill was abandoned years ago, like long before I even moved away?" Max could barely discern the rooftop of the big, old building at this distance.

"Oh yes, way back in seventy-six, I think," Chloe answered. "It was more like a music establishment after that. Some bad ass concerts went on there before it went up in flames."

"Aha, too bad it burned down before we could go there. Sounds like it was a great place," Max said.

"It was." Chloe bumped her shoulder into Rachel's and shot her a mischievous grin. Rachel still gazed silently at the horizon, but she smiled at the bump and reached for Chloe's hand.

The way Chloe's face radiated when she took Rachel's hand, the Mill must have really meant something special to them. Max swallowed and looked away, breathing slowly to suppress any unwanted sounds that risked to emerge from her throat. Chloe, clearly oblivious of Max's hardship, flicked her cigarette stub over her shoulder and grabbed the skateboard. "One more try, then maybe we can go grab a coffee and something to eat? I'm fucking starving."

"Sure," Rachel said with a big yawn. "I'm in dire need of some caffeine too. Haven't slept since yesterday and all that."

Max looked down the ramp. It was a freaking huge drop. She turned a concerned face to Chloe. "Shouldn't you at least wear a helmet and stuff like that?"

Chloe looked at her with surprise. "Pfff, and what would be the fun of that?"

Before Max could answer her with a litany of admonitions, Chloe jumped up on her skateboard and rattled down and away with a breakneck speed that made Max's heart twinge with worry.

* * *

Chloe didn't die at the skate park. She didn't even get seriously injured, just some scratches, a tender knee, and two bruised elbows. In the end, she actually did manage to make that high jump three-sixty she had been working on for some time. It was a very cocky Chloe who entered a surprisingly crowded Two Whales Diner and Café. She swaggered down to her favorite table in the corner. Max and Rachel looked at each other, giggling at the show, and followed her inside. Chloe had ridden her skateboard all the way to the diner since it was mostly downhill, and Max had ridden on the back of Rachel's bike. Now they were red-cheeked and hungry as they flopped onto the benches around the black-cloth-clad table, Chloe and Rachel on one side, and Max, facing Chloe, on the other.

Max looked at them and noticed how incredibly cute they were, both of them—and how alive. She felt a deep, selfless love bubble up inside for the two girls sitting before her. She had saved both their lives, and for that, she was profoundly thankful. Her own wants and feelings felt like nothing compared to having these two wonderful people here, breathing, hearts beating, living. Now she had a responsibility for them, right? Wasn't that how it worked? She didn't mind that at all. _Chloe…and Rachel, I will look out for you. I promise._

She was shaken from her thoughts by a small giggle. Rachel and Chloe were looking at her, both with big grins on their faces. "That look…" Chloe said, smiling, while shaking her head slightly.

"What _are_ you thinking about?" Rachel asked, tapping a finger on her cheek, her eyes twinkling with laughter.

"I…Uh…I…" Max felt her face glow red hot. "I…am…just enjoying your company?"

Rachel and Chloe looked at each other and giggled again. Then Rachel reached out a hand, gripped her arm, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You are weird, Max. Do you know that?" She smiled at her, a friendly smile. "But you are very lovable." She nodded. "Weird, but lovable."

"Told you so," said Chloe and reached out and took Max's other arm with her hand. Max wasn't sure if her words were directed to her or to Rachel, or both.

They didn't let her go, instead the two girls looked at her and each other with big smiles on their faces. Max gripped eitheir arms as well and returned their smiles, albeit a bit shyly and hesitantly. _Man, this is weird. Nice, but weird._

"Okay, ladies, done holding hands and ready to order?"

The three girls jumped apart as if they'd been caught in the act of doing something improper and broke out into awkward laughter. A tall, round woman with short brown hair and clad in the diner's uniform stood at their table. She carried a coffee-pot in one hand and three simple white mugs in the other. With an amused smile, she raised an eyebrow and waved the coffee-pot around.

"Oh, hi, Jen," Chloe said at last. "Yes, yes, we would like some coffee, please."

As Jen placed the mugs and poured steaming coffee into each of them, Chloe looked around at the other girls questioningly. "And to eat? Whatever you want, girls, it's on me!" Both Rachel and Max already had their noses buried in the menu, hungry as they were.

"I'll have a French dip," Rachel said thoughtfully. Max followed by ordering waffles and ice cream.

Chloe wanted eggs and bacon. "I am so hungry I could eat a whole poultry farm with a pig on top." She grinned happily, rubbing her hands together.

Jennifer tilted her head and gave Chloe a look. "You know I am not allowed to put this on Joyce's tab when she is not working, dear."

"Oh, right, right." Chloe put her hands in her pockets and fished up a stack of coins, consisting purely of small change. It amounted to forty cents. She was quiet while she counted them through a couple of times. It was just forty cents, no hidden ten-dollar bills between the coins anywhere, no matter how many times she counted.

Jennifer frowned sympathetically. "I am really sorry, girls. You can have the coffee, but I can't give you any food for free."

Chloe pursed her lips and looked down. "Yeah, okay." She didn't look up when she addressed Max and Rachel. "Sorry about that, guys. Looks like you'll have to pay for your meals yourselves this time." Chloe looked back at Jennifer, raising her mug." And I'll just have this coffee, thank you."

 _Oh Chloe, this will not do, not at all,_ Max thought. "Wait," she said, searching for her wallet in her messenger bag. She still had all of her birthday money from a month ago, and she would be more than happy to pay for breakfast or lunch or whatever for them all. She found her wallet and grabbed it. "I have it covered, no problem."

"So, you can pay for all?" Jennifer gestured around.

"Sure." Max placed her wallet on the table and gave it a little pat.

Jennifer nodded with a smile and left for the kitchen.

"I can pay for myself, Max," Rachel said. "It's okay."

"Let me, Rach, you can pay the next time or something." Max gave her a little awkward smile. _Did I just say Rach? I guess we are buddies now._ She gave Rachel a quick glance. _I hope…_

It didn't escape Rachel either. She gave Max a smile and a little wink as she grabbed her mug and took a big gulp of coffee. She looked up from behind her mug and grimaced. "Hot! But god did I need that."

Chloe who had sat silently until now slid back and down in her seat and groaned. Her beanie was pushed down over her eyes by the downward movement, and her blue bangs fell in her face. It made for quite the comical appearance. She blew on the hair that covered her mouth and flung her arms outward. "Money. I need that damn _money_."

* * *

Food was just what they needed. They ate under a solemn silence, the only sound coming from the scrapings of knives and forks and clinks of glasses and mugs. Jennifer came by and filled their mugs up with more coffee, and they sat back, fully satisfied, each with a freshly-brewed cup in hand.

"That! Was not half bad," Chloe remarked after a coma-like silence. "Thanks, Max, the savior of luncheons."

"Yes, thank you, Max," said Rachel, resting her chin on her hands, her blue feather pendant wiggling against her wrist.

Max mumbled a response that no one could hear. She felt like she was fourteen again, blushing whenever anyone just looked her way. She decided to use her age-old trick of directing the attention away from her, and she knew just what to say. She had noticed it before, when they held hands, but hadn't said anything then. Now was the perfect opportunity. "I love your watch, Rachel. It's really retro-cool."

"This?" Rachel raised her wrist. "Thank you! Yes, it's even cooler than that. This doesn't just look retro. It actually _is_ an old watch. "

"Wow, let me see." Max leaned over the table to have a closer look.

Chloe scoffed. "Max, you really were born thirty-forty years too late. When time travel is invented, you'll stand first in line, no doubt."

"Wouldn't you?" Rachel asked. She gave Chloe a sidelong glance while she unfastened her watch and handed it over to Max. "I have at least ten things I would love to go back and change if I could."

Chloe gave her a long look. Then she sighed and said in a dismal voice. "I guess…It's kind of a worthless hypothetical question, isn't it?"

Max didn't like the way this conversation was heading after all. Trying to change the subject, she said, "This is a seventies watch, right? A Nicolet, not super expensive, I think, but cool as hell. Where did you get it?"

Rachel furrowed her brow. "It's an eighties model, I believe, maybe an early one. I got it from my mom a couple of years ago. I thought it was time to start wearing it now."

"You got that from Rose?" Chloe asked, sounding very doubtful.

"No, my…biological mom, I should say."

Max was stunned. "Wait…what? Biological…?"

Chloe also looked quite astonished. "You got it from Sera?" She laughed loudly. "That's awesome, dude! I had no idea. But what does your dad say?"

Rachel gave them a sweet smile as she took the watch back from Max and began putting it back on. "He pretends he doesn't recognize it, but I know he knows I know. He was the one who gave it to her, I think."

Chloe laughed even more, slamming a hand on the table, making the empty tableware rattle. "That's a biiiiig fucking middle finger to your dad, Rach!"

Rachel continued to smile sweetly. "Yes, it kind of is."

Max sat silently, still stunned by the fact that Rachel's mom, Rose, wasn't her biological mom. Instead, it was this Sera that Max had never heard of. She had to ask Chloe about it later. She seemed to know everything about it. But now was not the time.

"So, what did he do to deserve that? Not to be nosy of course." Chloe spread her hands in an excusing manner.

"Not letting me go to Cali for a start."

"That's old news, Rach. What's new, pussycat?"

"Eww, I hate that song." Rachel scrunched her nose and gave Chloe a sidelong glance.

"Yeah, it's kinda cruddy, but Mom loves Tom Jones, so don't tell her I said that," Chloe said with a small laugh. Rachel nodded encouragingly, so Chloe continued, "Dad didn't give much for him either, but he said he couldn't hate Tom Jones because he's the reason I exist, kind of at least." She grinned. "Go figure. You know the song…" Chloe paused and looked at Rachel. "Wait a minute, Rach. You are stalling, aren't you?"

"Me? I'm not doing the talking here." Rachel looked innocent, but Chloe just gave her a look and waved her hand, gesturing for her to continue. Max giggled and Rachel gave her a little smile in return.

"Oh, well, Dad wants me to go to Harvard next fall. He thinks I'm done playing with arts and it's time for a real school." Rachel shook her head. "That's why I'm leaving for LA this summer." She turned and punched Chloe lightly on the shoulder. "And you are coming with me, right, Chloe?"

Chloe punched back, a little too enthusiastically. "Hella right!"

Max felt like she got punch after punch in the gut. "Wait, Rachel, you got into Harvard? _The_ Harvard?" Max stammered.

Rachel turned to her, and the smile on her face waned. "Yes, unfortunately, and now Dad can't let it go. That's everything he ever talks about these days. I'm going insane!" Max noticed how Rachel gripped the edge of the table with both her hands, her fingers turning white from the strain. "I don't want to be a fucking lawyer, but he just can't get it into that thick skull of his!"

"Ooooo, Rachel the lawyer, that would be a sight." Chloe grinned at her. "I bet you would look very sassy. Maybe you could be my personal attorney? I seem to need one now and then, and sassy is my number one requirement."

"Ha-ha, very funny." Rachel didn't seem to enjoy the idea. "Damn, I regret playing along with all that, but how could I know I would actually pass all those test and interviews?" Her jawline tense, Rachel looked unseeingly out the window. "But I just can't do it. I have seen Dad's work. I would be dead inside within a week, tops."

"I thought to be dead was a prerequisite of being a lawyer, no?" Max tried carefully.

Rachel didn't look at her. "Don't bother, Max. I have heard all the lawyer jokes there are, every last one of them."

"Sorry," Max said, looking down and feeling stupid.

Rachel turned and smiled weakly at her. "No, I am sorry, Max. I didn't mean to snub you off. This whole subject though…" Rachel grimaced. "If I ever had any qualms about leaving the Bay, they are totally gone now. I _have_ to leave. Soon."

 _No, you can't leave. Not yet._ Max had no idea where that thought came from, and it spooked her deeply, but she also knew it was true. Somehow, she knew that it was very important that neither she, Rachel, nor Chloe left Arcadia Bay, not until it was finished. Whatever _it_ was. But _it_ was coming, and it was coming fast.

* * *

They left the Two Whales Diner shortly after. Rachel needed to go home and get a couple of hours sleep. She had a Sunday dinner with her family later in the afternoon, and she didn't want to be a living corpse at that time.

"I wish you could join me," Rachel said to Max and Chloe as they walked out the diner door and down the steps to the sidewalk. "It would lighten up the mood."

"Lighten up? Nooo," Chloe said laughing. "You mean fire up! I've had dinner with you a couple of times, remember? Not a single one ended pleasantly. Wasn't I outright banned…?"

"Well, yes, but I was thinking, with Max here, she seems to be able to keep you in check. Maybe we could make another try?"

"Keep _me_ in check?" Chloe faked incredulousness. "It's your dad who needs checking!"

"I won't argue with that." Rachel grinned. "Max? Maybe you could keep my dad in check for us? It's not easy, but I would be forever grateful."

"Eh…Umm…I…" Max mumbled.

Chloe laughed. "That is cruel, Rach. You know your dad is a hopeless case. It's just an impossible task." She made a solemn face. "Or a 'Sisyphean task' as he himself would put it," she said in a mock sententious voice which made Rachel leer at her.

They turned and started to walk along the promenade when Max caught someone staring at them in the corner of her eye. An old woman in dirty, patched clothes stood behind the corner of the diner and peered at them. The old, worn face wore a strange expression, almost fearful.

 _The old homeless lady looks all shaken up, just from the sight of us…_ "Guys, don't look, but I think we're being watched," Max whispered. An uneasy feeling spread through her bones.

"That old lady?" Rachel said in a carefree tone. "Yes, she's a bit creepy. She stood watching us through the window earlier, didn't you notice? But she is just a nut job, Max, nothing to worry about."

Chloe turned and looked straight at the old lady. "Ah, her. Mom knows her. She is all right." She squinted her eyes to get a better look. "But she does look a bit roused. Let's go talk to her and see what's wrong."

Chloe turned and began to walk towards the woman. Rachel and Max hesitantly followed in her steps. Immediately, the woman started to back away.

"Stop, you three!" she shouted. "You three! You are trouble!" She stumbled backwards with a horrified face when the girls came closer. "No! Trouble! Go away!" She turned and fled behind the building with a lopsided gait, her long, dirty coat flapping around her legs.

Chloe stood with a puzzled look on her face. "Wow, that was weird," she said and put her hands on her hips. "I know she used to call me trouble, but the three of us?" She shook her head. "I don't get it. She is usually quite nice and talkative. Not that we are buddies or anything, but still." Chloe looked at her two friends with a crooked smile. "Seems like hanging out with me is giving you guys a bad rep. Sorry about that."

Max was getting a totally different vibe from the old lady, and she didn't like it. But she said nothing. What was there to say? That something strange was going on, but she had no idea what, and the three of them were apparently connected to it, but she had no idea how? Chloe and Rachel would think she was as crazy as the homeless lady. She would give almost anything to know what the old lady was talking about, but she couldn't go and ask her now. Maybe later she could, if she dared to. She had to figure out what was going on, but how? Max got a vision of Arcadia Bay as a giant chess board, with silent forces moving the pieces back and forth. At the moment, she definitely felt like a pawn, not a queen. What was it now she had wished for? _No more mysteries, just ordinary people doing ordinary things._ Max scoffed and rolled her eyes. _Yeah, no more mysteries, my ass…_ Max sighed and felt her mood sink.

Chloe looked at Max and Rachel and shrugged. "Cheer up, Max, it was nothing personal." She turned and started to walk in the same direction they had begun earlier. "Come on, let's get you home, Rach."

They walked. After quite some time, they turned in on Cedar Avenue. Chloe kicked her skateboard around, and Rachel rode her bike in slow s-curves over the asphalt. There wasn't much traffic this Saturday noon. Max walked in between them, silent, still feeling a bit gloomy. Chloe's truck stood parked by the sidewalk under the canopy of some trees of a small park just ahead. That was where they were heading.

"Aren't you getting your own car soon?" Chloe asked.

"No," Rachel said curtly and dismounted from her bicycle and began to lead it.

"Well, I can drive you home, Rach, no problem." They stopped in front of the old, rusty truck. Chloe lobbed her skateboard up onto the flatbed, and then she grabbed Rachel's bicycle to heave it up into the back too, but she stopped in the middle of the movement. "What?…The fuck is this?"

They followed Chloe's gaze. On the flatbed lay a big canvas package. Chloe snarled something under her breath and ripped away the cloth. Underneath were two big black tires with white sides and chromed rims. Chloe stood as if in shock and stared.

"What the hell…?" she asked finally. She inspected the wheels, letting a slim hand sweep lovingly along the bulges and curves of the shining metal rims. "These are damn cool," she said with a sigh. "But what the hell are they doing on my truck?" Chloe let a finger slide into a tire tread, measuring its depth. "And these babies are fucking brand new! Or as good as, anyway." She shook her head. "This is so fucking strange…"

Chloe stopped and looked down, then she picked up a piece of cardboard lying to the side. It had some handwritten text on it in big, black, neatly-shaped letters. "To C, use them well—D," she read aloud. Chloe stood still as a statue for a second, and then she ripped off her beanie, holding it and squeezing it repeatedly in hard fists. She turned and gave Max and Rachel a strange look, full of mixed emotions. Her blue hair waved in the breeze. "From D? David? I-I thought he hated my truck!"

There was a moment of silence.

"Maybe he's only concerned about your safety?" joked Rachel.

"The fuck he is…" Chloe scoffed, but they could see she was thinking hard. They stood gazing at each other for a while. Chloe gave them an almost pleading look. "But…what should I do?" She looked completely bewildered.

"You keep them of course!" Rachel said, tilting her head. "Why wouldn't you? It's a very nice gift."

"It is, I agree, but…"

"No but, Chloe, just take them." Rachel replied with mild irritation. "I need to go home now. I am practically falling asleep where I stand, despite all the coffee I drank earlier today."

Finally, Chloe smiled, a lopsided, happy smile "Alright, but if David thinks I will start behaving like the nice little oppressed girl he wants, then he's in for a huge disappointment."

"I don't think his hopes are _that_ high, even in his rosiest of dreams," Max said carefully.

Chloe grinned and her whole posture relaxed. She put a hand on the tires again, as if to reassure herself that they were actually still there. "If you are not in a bleeding hurry, Rach, I think I'll change them right now," she said. "The ones here at the rear are practically falling apart." Chloe gave one of the rear tires a kick, and the impact released a small cloud of dry rubber dust.

Rachel nodded, then both she and Max stepped forward to help Chloe get the new tires off the truck. They looked very big and heavy. Chloe immediately raised a hand. "No. I'll manage this myself. You'd just be in my way." She pulled her beanie back and pushed her bangs away from her face." This will go pretty quickly. Go and have a girl's talk or something in the meantime, okay?"

Chloe leapt up onto the back of the truck and started to rummage around, fetching tools and stuff that she would need. When they didn't leave immediately, she stopped and looked down at them, furrowing her brow. "Shoo, girls! I'll do this much faster without an audience. Please."

"Please?" Rachel asked, looking back up at Chloe with a cute smile. "Well, you know I can't say no to you when you use that magic word."

Chloe just scoffed and waved them away.

Rachel and Max walked up the street about twenty paces and sat down on the curb together. They listened for a while to Chloe working, swearing like a sailor and a trooper combined. Rachel shook her head. "She always gets strange around her truck. I don't know why."

"Maybe it's some kind of love-hate relationship?" Max asked, moving her gaze from where Chloe was working a greasy old jack under the beaten up truck down the street, to Rachel, who sat looking at her with a peculiar gaze.

"Oh no, it's only pure love there for sure, but it's definitely a masochistic one," Rachel said with a small laugh. Then her face grew more serious as she looked back at Max. "You know, Max, I was totally wrong about you. I am really, truly, sorry for being so harsh on you earlier. I might have gotten a bit overprotective."

Max shrugged. "No hard feelings, Rach, I understand. And I kind of deserved that scolding."

"Well, maybe you did," Rachel said, smiling at her. "But my fears were clearly ungrounded. You are doing _something_ to Chloe all right, but it seems it is something good, maybe even really good." She then looked at her thoughtfully. "I don't claim to understand you, Max. I usually get people quite fast, but I must admit you are a bit of an enigma to me."

"I am?" Max tried to look back into Rachel's shining eyes, but she couldn't keep eye contact and had to look away after just a short while.

Rachel just continued, "Yes, you are. And to be clear, you are not out of the woods. Not yet. You are doing well, but I still have my eyes on you."

Max forced herself to meet Rachel's green eyes, and this time she didn't waver. "Rachel…" She cleared her throat. "Rachel, I am really happy you care so much for Chloe. That you have had her back for all this time. I really am…I really am thankful."

Rachel stared back at her with her piercing, green gaze. Max felt like it bored right through her skull and into her brain. She tried to shake the unnerving feeling by continuing to talk. "Chloe deserves the world, and I will do everything in my power to give it to her. You understand?"

Rachel nodded without any outward change of expression, her gaze never wavering. "Yes, I think I'm beginning to understand."

They sat in silence looking at each other, as if measuring each other up, until Rachel suddenly laughed and shook her head. The awkward mood lifted, and they both smiled tentatively at one another. Max felt her whole body relax. _Oh man, I had no idea you could be so intimidating, Rachel._

"This," Rachel said, and tilted her head in the direction of Chloe and the truck, "was your doing somehow, right?"

Max hesitated, and then gave a small nod. A smile grew on Rachel's face. She nodded back, still grinning, and placed a hand on Max's shoulder, shaking it lightly. "That's just hella awesome. Color me impressed." She gave Max a small punch on the shoulder. "I have no idea how the hell you pulled it off, but keep doing your magic. It will be really interesting to see where this leads."

 _Interesting indeed,_ Max thought.

Down the street, the truck coughed to life with a sputter and a growl and began rolling forward slowly. It stopped at their feet, and Chloe leaned out of the open side window. "Yo bitches, I'm done!" she shouted with a pair of oversized sunglasses perched on her nose and a big grin on her face. "Jump in, Rach. Max?"

"I better head back to Blackwell. I need a shower and a change of clothes," Max shouted back over the noise as she looked up at Chloe. She hadn't seen a happier Chloe in a long time, and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay, no problemo, Mad Max, I'll take you there after we drop off Rachel. Get in." Chloe revved the engine, letting it roar loudly, releasing a huge cloud of stinking smoke.

"I'm coming. I'm coming." Max hastened around the vehicle, coughing in the exhaust, and climbed in beside Rachel. She slammed the door shut. "Okay, I'm ready," she wheezed.

The truck rumbled and shook. Chloe, still smiling broadly, flipped a button and a loud grinding and beating that probably should pass for some kind of music started to bellow out of the truck's large hodge-podge array of loudspeakers.

"Hold on to your knickers, ladies," Chloe shouted over the music and engine noise. "We're rolling!" The truck roared and the new tires screeched angrily while it accelerated shakily along the avenue and sped away.

 _Oh, god,_ Max thought while clambering frantically to Rachel at her side, _I am going to die in this piece of junk._


	8. Chapter 7

He was lying on his bed. His room felt cramped; the walls were closing in on him, suffocating him. His mouth tasted sour. Dark shadows crept in the corners, both in the room and in his mind. He looked at his mobile phone, broken on the floor where he had thrown it a moment ago. He remembered the angry voice in the phone all too well. He hadn't followed through with his plan, his threats. The voice had only laughed contemptuously at him. He had been weak. No, he _was_ weak.

"Do you think this is about you?" the voice had asked, scornful to the brim. "I thought that I had made it clear to you. This is not optional. This is not a fancy party committee or a silly school position you can just say no thanks and goodbye to."

He had tried to make his arguments, but the voice had ignored him, as it always did when he tried to talk back.

"I'll tell you again," the voice had said, condescendingly, with an icy grim tone to it. "The walk is real, and it's no damn joke. It's a _burden_ laid upon us because we are the only ones who are strong enough."

Immediately, he had begun to argue, but the voice had told him to shut up and listen. Then it had continued with an intense relentlessness that had made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "We are the tempering force. This is our responsibility, our duty, not just to our heritage and our ancestors, or to our people, but to everyone who lives here. To this land, to this town. To _our_ town."

"But…But I-I cannot do this. I just can't," he had pleaded, almost sobbed, into the phone.

There had been no mercy in the voice when it had answered him. "You can, and you must…and you will."

He turned to face the wall and cried. Why did he have to be so weak?

* * *

After dropping Rachel off at her parent's house, Max and Chloe drove up to Blackwell Academy. They stopped on the street in front of the big, red main building with its impressive tower basking in the fall sun. A lot of students were out in the front yard enjoying the fine weather, but Max couldn't spot any teachers or security guards. Max and Chloe sat together in the truck, not ready to part from each other just yet. They sat looking at each other in a comfortable silence.

"Do you want to come up to my room?" Max asked after a while.

"Easy there, doll, we only met just yesterday," Chloe said with a laugh. "I may think of you as a girl of easy virtue."

Max scoffed. "Said she who invited me into her bed practically hours after we met."

Chloe raised her hands in surrender and grinned, "Whoa, Maximus, checkmate on the first move. Nice one." Then her smile waned as she gripped the steering wheel again. "Actually, the truth is, I am forbidden to enter the campus."

"Even as my guest? On a Saturday?" Max asked.

Chloe chewed thoughtfully on her lip. "Yeah, no exceptions." Then she smiled an almost wily smile. "On the other hand, I know for a fact that Herr Überdickfürer isn't working today, and the other security guards aren't as enthusiastic about their job as the grand stepfuck, so…okay, let's give it a try. We'll just have to be sneaky, and we'll be fine."

This was not a good idea, but on the other hand, Max really didn't want to say goodbye to Chloe. Not yet. It felt like they had just met. There were still so many things to talk about, and god knows what could happen if she let Chloe out of her sight. But the main reason, Max admitted to herself, was that she just wanted to be near her, now that they were finally back together. Max's egoistic side won the quick and dirty fight inside her head, and she smiled back at Chloe. "Sure, sneaky is my middle name."

"Yeah? Good," Chloe said, though she gave her such a doubtful look that it made Max giggle.

Luckily, the guest parking was unoccupied this early Saturday afternoon. They parked and took the seldom-used path that went in a wide roundabout from behind the main building to the dormitories area. The path took them past the little cluster of trees where the Tobanga stood. The totem gave them a suspicious look as they passed.

Max and Chloe were skipping through the little park towards the dormitory building when an angry voice shouted at them from some distance. "Chloe! What are you doing here!" David stood at the edge of the green in his security uniform, legs apart and hands on his hips. He pushed his cap back on his head, and he looked very angry.

"Shit, step-douche is here," Chloe whispered to Max, her eyes wide in horrified surprise. "I was damn sure this was his free weekend. Mom said they were going to Portland, or something."

"Evidently not," Max whispered back, trying to keep her cool, as they walked up to him.

"This is fucking unbelievable. He has a damn sixth sense when it comes to annoying me," Chloe growled, clearly resigned, anger building up in her voice.

Max hushed her. "Try to keep calm now, Chloe. Let me do the talking, alright?" They stopped in front of David, who stood there, staring at them with dark eyes. "Hello, Mister Madsen," Max said, trying a sweet smile. "Weren't you and Joyce going to have this weekend off together?"

"Yes, but Wayne called in sick so we had to postpone our plans." He looked even grumpier than usual, surely for the canceled weekend plans but also for finding Chloe here, blatantly disregarding his rules.

Chloe stared at the ground, and Max could feel her tensing up, preparing for a retort to the reprimand that would surely come. Max grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. It was hot and a little sweaty. Then she turned to David and said, "I am very sorry to hear that, Mister Madsen. Well, I was just going to show Chloe my room, if that's okay?"

"I am sorry, Max, I can't allow that. Chloe was caught with narcotics here on campus and is banned from visiting Blackwell." David paused and gave Chloe a blistering stare. "As she well knows."

Max gave him a pleading look. She felt Chloe building up to something, but Max squeezed her hand once more. "We will just hang out in my room. I want to show her my photography and stuff. There will be no bad behavior, I promise." Max tilted her head and raised her eyebrows at him encouragingly.

David's face showed conflicting feelings. He chewed and grimaced while he thought. "I don't think that's possible. Sorry, Max."

 _Oh no, don't be a step-douche, David._ Max pursed her lips. _Okay, let's try this another way._ "How long ago was it that Chloe was caught with drugs here?"

"Why, it was four years ago, but…"

"Mister Madsen, don't you think Chloe deserves another chance? After four years?"

"What I think doesn't matter, Max. Rules are rules."

Max instinctively put her other hand on Chloe's arm to calm her down. It was the right decision. She felt how Chloe was shivering, probably about to explode any second. She had to fix this soon or everything she had tried to accomplish would be in vain. It was a miracle Chloe hadn't burst out into a raging fit yet. "I can guarantee you that nothing will happen, Mister Madsen, and don't you think that sometimes rules can be a hindrance to the greater good? These rules we are talking about, they are not the law or anything, right?"

"No, but they are there for the safety of the…"

Max gave him a long look and he halted himself. David's face contorted in thought, and he started to squirm. He looked around several times. Whether it was to look for help or see if they were being watched, Max wasn't sure. Finally his tense, broad shoulders relaxed and he sighed.

"Oh well, I guess you are right, Max. Chloe, if you are clean, you may go up to Max's room, but just this one time." He raised a fist pointing at them. "And no trouble. Anything you do will come back on me, you understand?"

Chloe paused as if waiting for something, then she nodded silently and hastily began to turn her jean pockets inside out. Max put a hand on Chloe's arm again. "No need to do that, Chloe. Mister Madsen will take your word for it. Right, Mister Madsen?"

David stared in surprise and anger at her, but when Max continued to stare back, his jaw softened. He sighed again and shook his head, even smiled a little. "Yes, your word is enough, Chloe," he said, his posture relaxing as he spoke.

Chloe stared back at him and stammered, still with both hands in her pockets, "I-I am clean."

"Good. I will talk with Principal Wells and ask him if the ban can be officially lifted, now that you have a good friend here. But I can't promise anything." He gave her an evaluating look. "I'll tell him your behavior has been for the better the last year. If you can please act like that is the truth, I will be very grateful." Then David turned to Max with a stern, almost accusing, look. "And you, Max, you'll have to take responsibility too. If there is anything shady going on, you are going to be in deep trouble, the both of you."

"Of course, Mister Madsen," Max said, barely able to hide the big smile creeping up on her face. "You can trust us. I promise. And thank you, this means a lot."

David looked doubtful, but with an evident effort, he kept quiet and nodded. He gestured with a stiff hand in the direction of the dormitories. "All right, go on then."

"Let's bounce before he changes his mind," Chloe whispered to Max, and they did. As they walked briskly towards the girl's dormitory entrance, Max turned her head back and gave David a thankful smile. David acknowledged it with a curt nod, but it looked like he regretted his change of mind already.

Max and Chloe rushed up the stairs to the second floor, through the empty corridor, and into room number 219, Max's dorm room. Once inside, Chloe did a little war dance, grabbing Max's hands and dragging her around while hooting and laughing. "Max! You are fucking awesome! How _the fuck_ did you pull that shit off? Did you hypnotize him or what?"

"Logic and reasoning, that's all I need," Max said with a small smile as she released herself from Chloe's grip.

"No shit, Sherlock, that was hella amazing." Chloe panted as they both sat down beside each other on the bed.

"Not amazeballs?" Max asked with a sidelong glance at Chloe.

"Amazeballs?" Chloe made a face. "Eww, who uses an expression like that? You are weird up there in Seattle. It's the cold I guess. It freezes your…" Chloe stopped and smacked a palm to her forehead. "Damn, I should have thanked David for the wheels! I forgot. I was so shocked that he let us pass. Now I look like an ass."

"Don't worry about it. I am sure there will be plenty of time for that later. Now, I really need that shower." Max leaned over to Chloe and put her nose close to her neck, though not as close as she would have liked. "And maybe you should take one too?"

"I stink?" Chloe asked, lifting an arched eyebrow at her.

"Noo, but there is a kind of musty air around you. A shower would do you good."

Chloe leaned her head to one side. "You are just scheming to see me nude, aren't you?"

Max blushed profoundly. "I…eh…I…have seen you naked before."

"Really? That was like ten years ago. I am a woman now, if you haven't noticed."

Max had noticed, and right now it made her heart beat hard. Chloe stood up in the middle of the room and made a pirouette and stopped in a cute theatrical but very un-Chloe-like pose, a pose she had undoubtedly seen Rachel do numerous times. Chloe grinned and blew a kiss at Max, who just wanted to rush forward and grab her and hug and kiss the life right out of her. Instead, Max tried to suppress an awkward giggle and directed her eyes down toward her feet as her cheeks burned to cinder. She was beginning to wonder if being alone with Chloe in her room wasn't such a good idea after all.

"I better take that shower now," Max mumbled. _A cold one. "_ I'll be back in a moment." She rose and grabbed her last set of clean clothes and a towel from her closet and rushed out the door. In her haste, she almost knocked over a tall, blonde girl. _Victoria!_

"You're back!" Victoria said with surprise as she grabbed Max in her arms. Behind her, Taylor and Courtney rolled their eyes at each other. Victoria immediately pushed Max away, and her face took on its usual snooty appearance, though her cheeks were uncharacteristically red. She smoothed her blouse and skirt that had been rumpled when Max ran into her.

"So, you survived a night with the riff-raff. Good for you," Victoria said without as much as giving Max another glance. Then she said, as she turned and walked away down the corridor with a pronounced sway to her hips, "You smell, Max." Victoria raised up a hand and gestured at the exit with an exaggeratedly splayed index finger. "'Come on girls, no time for losers."

Both Taylor and Courtney gave her looks oozing with contempt as they passed her in the corridor, but Max didn't care. She stood clutching her clean clothes to her chest and followed Victoria with her eyes as she walked away and out.

Chloe opened the door behind her and peeked out. "Hey, Max, what's going on? Weren't you in a hurry and all that?"

"What, missing me already?" Max asked, her eyes still on the door that had just closed behind Victoria and her entourage. She then turned to face Chloe instead.

Chloe gave her a smirk. "Not just yet, but we need to talk about your wardrobe." She held up two t-shirts, one with a saccharine sweet duck motif, the other showing a hand holding a childish bouquet of flowers in Technicolor hues. Neither of them very elegant, Max admitted to herself, but to Chloe she said, "Are you snooping through my things?"

"I confess, I am a snooper. But it is for your own good. These clothes…" She waved the t-shirts in the air.

"Stop picking on my clothes, Chloe," Max said, sounding a lot more whiny than she had intended.

Chloe took a step backwards and raised a hand. "Not picking, not picking, just giving some friendly advice."

Max growled in the back of her throat and turned and walked towards the showers in a huff. She showered deep in thought.

After the shower and a change of clothes, she felt much better. Her meeting with Victoria had upset her more than she realized, and that wasn't Chloe's fault. Furthermore, she couldn't really be angry at Chloe for snooping. Max knew herself, and she loved poking through other people's stuff. Just to get to know them better, of course. To Max, a person's things and how they treated them told her more about the person in question than talking to them. Victoria sailed up in her mind as a prime example of that.

On her way from the shower room, Max erased a message written in lipstick on one of the mirrors. "Max Cuckold Caulfield" it had said inside a circle of hearts, before Max turned it into a reddish smudge. She tried halfheartedly to wipe the rest away with a paper towel, but it didn't really help much, so she let it be. _Oh, Victoria, how the hell did she know what was going on?_ Even more than she herself, it seemed. She had to talk to her later, when they were alone, just the two of them.

When she got back to her room, Max dumped her dirty clothes into her laundry sack. It was overfull, and she had trouble getting it all to fit within. She really needed to do the laundry later today, or she would have to go to class in her pajamas on Monday.

Chloe sat on the bed following her every movement with a worried expression. "Max, I am sorry if I…" she began, but Max waved it away.

"No, you are right. I don't have much of a style, and besides, I really need some new clothes. If you would give me some tips, I'd be happy."

Chloe's frown turned into a happy smile. "Really? That's great! Maybe we could go shopping some day? There is a store down on Bay Avenue that carries some pretty nice gear."

"Sounds good, let's do that."

"Also, you can shop on the internet. I'll show you some online stores that are good."

Max smiled at Chloe's enthusiasm as she sat down at the desk and started to rattle away on the keyboard. Max herself had one thing she wanted to buy for Chloe, and she guessed it was easier to come by on the internet than in Arcadia Bay. The little seaside town was picturesque and charming in many ways, but a shopping Mecca it was not. Oh well, she would have to look it up later when Chloe wasn't around.

"How about this shirt?" Chloe pushed over the laptop so Max could see. "Or this pair of jeans?"

Max sat down close to Chloe, and they looked at clothes together. Most of the things didn't feel like her style at all, but some did, and she ended up ordering a skirt, a couple of t-shirts, and a pair of black jeans, though she couldn't make herself buy the pre-ripped ones. She also ordered a set of Jolly Roger panties that Chloe insisted on. "You need to be cool from inside out, else you're just not real, bruh."

"I don't think underwear count's as…" Max began, but Chloe didn't listen. Instead, she stood up and pulled down her own tattered jeans to reveal a big red anarchy-A right on her black panty butt.

"Nice, eh?" Chloe said, looking back at Max.

"Very nice," said Max, looking at Chloe's behind and feeling her cheeks grow hot.

Chloe grinned. "Yeah, you will have to work hard, if you are going to keep up with me."

Max was just about to make a cheesy reply when she was saved by a careful little tap on the door. Chloe quickly pulled her jeans back up as Max rose and walked over to open it. It was Kate standing on the other side of the door, clutching her hands nervously in front of her chest.

"Hi, Kate!" Max said, surprised.

"Hi, Max. I was thinking, have you heard about the barbecue…" Kate looked over Max's shoulder and her eyes widened. "…tomorrow? Oh, you've got company."

Max stood aside, gesturing Kate into her room. "No problem, Kate. Please, come in. This is Chloe."

Chloe swaggered forward with a big grin and held out a hand. "Pleased to meet you, Kate."

Taking a half step backward while looking Chloe up and down, Kate seemed almost frightened. While fidgeting nervously with a rye-blond strand of hair with one hand, she hesitantly took Chloe's outstretched hand with her other. "Pleased to meet you too, Chloe," she said in a small voice, throwing Max a quick glance.

"Chloe is an old friend of mine, from when I lived here before," Max said. "My best friend, actually." Max noticed how Chloe's smile grew even wider and her back straightened at her words.

"Oh, I see . Well, I will soon be on my way," Kate murmured. "I just wanted to check if you were coming. We hadn't heard anything about it from you. It's me and Juliet arranging the barbecue, at the Overlook." She paused, then looked up at Max and said, "Warren will be there." She gave Chloe a quick glance, and then looked back at Max. "We sent an email. Everything is in there."

"Sure, I will come," Max said. Then she nodded at Chloe. "Can I bring a friend?"

"Ehh, I…think it's for the class only." Kate looked at Max. "But I guess…?"

"Good! We will be there." Max turned to Chloe. "If you want to come, of course?"

Chloe pursed her lips. "Well, okay. Could be fun hanging out with the nerds and the intellectuals for once, right? I'm not that picky."

Kate looked first at Chloe and then to Max and gave them both a shy little smile. "Okay, good. I better go now. See you tomorrow then?"

They said good bye, and Kate left. "What a little sugar pie," Chloe said after the door had closed. "She made me feel like the big bad wolf, not an entirely unpleasant feeling though."

Max gave her a crooked smile, and Chloe looked back at her with eyebrows raised. "Who is this Warren, by the way?"

"Oh, Warren is just a friend. He's in my class."

"Just a friend? It sounded like something more from what I heard." When Max didn't answer, Chloe continued. "Come on, Max, you can tell me, being your best friend and all."

"It's nothing."

"Nothing? Really? It sure looks like there is _something_ at least."

"Yes, there is, but not Warren."

"Someone else then?"

"Yeah."

"Aha! So, who?"

Max was silent. She really didn't know what to say. Why, oh why had she admitted there was someone? So stupid! But in her defense she probably wouldn't have been able to lie to Chloe straight to her face and get away with it anyway.

Chloe swiveled to and fro in her chair and took on a thoughtful pose. Then she crossed her arms and gave Max an amused look. "Okay, Miss Say-nothing-at-all, you apparently want to play twenty questions then. Is it a human?"

"Duh!"

"Is it someone living?"

"Chloe, please."

"Is it a boy?"

Max was silent.

"Max? Is it a boy? You know, boy, girl, something in between?" Chloe gestured vaguely in the air with her hands.

"Nooo…it's not a boy."

For once, it was Chloe's turn to be silent, or more like dumbstruck. She stared at Max with blank eyes, until she suddenly rose up and started to pace back and forth in the little dorm room. Her face plastered with a big grin. "Not a boy! Oh la la, Max! What a bombshell! That was the surprise of the year! I had no idea. I always pictured you as a man's woman. Traditional, you know. Not wild and crazy like me. You know, I-I like girls too! And boys, but mostly girls. Well, _a_ girl. But you knew that already, right?"

Max smiled at Chloe, who was pacing and blabbering on uncontrollably. She was so adorable when she got exited, exactly like when she was younger. "Yes, Chloe, I did, and I also like both boys and girls, but right now not boys so much."

Chloe sat down heavily on the chair again and shook her head in disbelief. "Whoah, Max, who would've thunk. So, this, this someone, it is a girl then?"

"It is."

"Wow, Max, just wow! This suddenly became much more interesting…"

 _Well, my dear Chloe, it's even more interesting than you think._

"Is it a-a teacher? You were always interested in older guys when we were younger. You had a crush on Mister Robertson in sixth grade, remember?" Chloe jumped up and grabbed Max's hairbrush from the nearby shelf and made it her microphone as she began to sing painfully off key, "God bless you pleeeease, Mister Robertson…"

Max blushed and slapped her hands over her ears. "Oh god, Chloe, stop!"

Chloe tried to continue singing but she began to laugh so hard at Max's scrunched face that she couldn't get out a single word. Max glowered at her as Chloe fell down on the bed in laugh-induced spasms. "Very funny, please don't remind me. I was eleven years old. Ten, actually. And no, it's not a teacher."

Chloe, still lying on the bed, wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up at Max. She smiled broadly and stuck her pink tongue out at her. Then Chloe's smile and tongue disappeared promptly when something that must have been a horrible thought hit her squarely in the face. Her whole body stiffened. "It's-It's not Victoria Chase is it? Max? Tell me it's not Icky Vicky!"

Now it was Max's turn to smile at Chloe's horrified face. "No, it's not Victoria. She is just a friend." She then said in a sullen tone, "If she's even that."

"Thank the goddess of the abyss for that," Chloe said and sat up on the bed, thinking. "And… it's not Rachel."

"Correct." Chloe gave her a shocked stare. Max added hastily, "I mean it's correct that i _t isn't_ Rachel."

"Whew, you got me worried there for a sec. Is it _anyone_ at Blackwell?"

"Nope"

"It isn't! Wow, that makes it a bit tricky." Chloe pulled off her beanie and ruffled her blue locks with a hand while thinking. "Someone from Seattle?"

"No."

"Aha, okay, good. Someone here in the Bay then?"

"Yes."

"Really! Not in school, but in Arcadia Bay?" Chloe tapped her finger against her chin in a way Max had seen Rachel do many times. "That's intriguing."

She noticed how Chloe's eyes wandered to her photo wall above her bed, searching through the extensive rows of square Polaroid pictures for clues, no doubt. There were no photos of Chloe there, not a single one, at least not yet. Not long ago there had been dozens or more photos of Chloe, photos that Max would love to have back. She could of course always take new ones, but still, she missed parts of the old reality. In it, she and Chloe had had a goal, a purpose, a direction. Even if they hadn't known what they were doing, they had done things. They had worked together, been together, just the two of them, just like in old times, only more. In this new reality, Max felt lost, clueless, and in a way, very alone, even when she was with Chloe. Max swallowed down a big lump in her throat. Her cheerful mood disappeared in a heartbeat, and with a silent groan she fell down on the sofa, rolled over, and stared up at the ceiling. "Chloe, I don't want to play anymore."

"Ha! You give up?" Chloe asked triumphantly. "So, just tell me then. Who is it?"

"I can't tell you, not now."

"Can't or won't?" Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and gave her a frown. "Why?" When Max continued to stare at the ceiling without uttering a word, Chloe shrugged. "Okay, no matter. You try to keep it a secret, Maxaroni. I will figure it out eventually. I guarantee you that. This is just too saucy to ignore."

 _Yes, please do, it's just that now is not the right time,_ Max thought, but she remained silent.

"Maybe I'll ask Rachel for help. She is fucking awesome at getting info out of people, without them even knowing," Chloe continued.

 _Shit, Rachel might actually figure it out, if she hasn't already. Maybe I need to talk to her before it's too late._

Chloe stopped in her tracks and gave Max a look. "Hey, Max, you alright?" she asked as she kneeled down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

Max turned around and gave Chloe a small smile. "Yes, I am. Sorry, I just…" Chloe's phone beeped. Max sat up with an urgent feeling in her chest. She looked at Chloe with wide eyes. "Is it Rachel? Is she in trouble?"

Chloe reached for her phone and looked at the message. Then she looked up at Max in surprise. "Yeah, she is…kind of." She read the text again. "Rachel had a big fight with her parents and now she needs rescuing, so to speak. She seems pretty shaken up. How the hell did you know?"

"I don't know. Probably just a fluke."

"Yeah, probably." Chloe didn't look convinced. "Want to come along?"

 _No way, Chloe. Neither I nor Rachel would be comfortable with that._ "I think I better stay here for now. Have some stuff to do, like washing." She nodded at her bulging sack of dirty laundry. "But I'll see you soon, right?"

Chloe came forward and gave her a quick tight hug. Max's legs melted as she buried her face in Chloe's neck. A scent of petroleum, tobacco, and a sweet, slightly rancid smell of sweat that Max discovered she actually didn't mind at all, lingered in her nose, even after Chloe released her from the embrace.

"Sure, Maxie, we'll keep in touch. Barbecue date tomorrow, right? Text me when I should pick you up."

"Great," Max said, forcing a smile on her face, "and say hi to Rach from me."

Chloe grinned and raised a hand. She made a sloppy salute that would have made David cringe as she stepped through the door and stomped away into the corridor. The emptiness she left behind was deafening.

Max fell down on the sofa again and stared up at the ceiling. Then she rolled over on her side and contracted into a ball. She tried her best to fight them, but tears welled up in her eyes nonetheless. She tried to blink them away. It didn't work. She drew a long shaky breath. _Shit, Chloe, I really love you, you know. I just can't ignore my feelings, though I wish I could. Now you are on your way to Rachel, and it fucking hurts. Why does my life have to be so damn complicated?_

* * *

Max twitched awake. Gosh, how long had she been sleeping? She felt stiff and sore all over. Her sofa was way too small and hard to sleep on. Sometime in the future, when she had more money and more space, she would definitely get a more comfortable sofa, maybe even a sofa bed.

She picked up her phone. She had no new messages or missed calls, and according to its clock, she had slumbered for about three hours. Her head felt all mushy as she sat up. Outside her window, the sky was already dark, and a cold steady breeze was blowing in from the sea. A few drops of rain splattered against the windowpane. Max shuddered, though she wasn't really cold. She felt lonely in a way she hadn't felt in a long time, like a vital organ in her body or something was missing. She looked at her phone again. Should she give Chloe a call, or at least a message? She decided not to. Chloe was probably still busy with Rachel, and she didn't want to be annoying.

She better do the things she had to do now, when she was alone and had the time. Max sat down at her desk, woke up her laptop, and started surfing. She found exactly what she wanted, though it was a bit pricier than she expected. Her birthday money was dwindling to zero fast, but still, it made her spirit a bit higher. When she closed the lid of the laptop, Max felt her stomach grumble, and it made her sigh. Vending machine dinner, again. She might as well see if there was a washing machine free at the same time. Max grabbed her laundry sack and left her room.

As she passed Victoria's door, she paused. Max in another time would have just walked on by because she definitely wasn't in the mood for talking, not with Victoria, not with anybody. But this new Max knew that it would only come back to her later if she didn't do it now. She had held off this talk long enough. She dropped the sack on the floor with a thump and raised her hand and knocked.

After some long moments, the door opened. Victoria looked out and for a second, before she could compose herself, she looked very surprised.

"Hi Victoria, are you alone?" Max asked.

"Always. It's lonely at the top."

"Ha-ha. That would be funny, if it wasn't so sad, Vee," Max said, giving Victoria a lopsided smile.

"Yeah, my life is a fucking tragedy. And don't call me Vee. Makes it sound like we are friends."

"We are friends, aren't we?" Max looked at Victoria with raised eyebrows.

"Hardly," Victoria said scornfully. "Just because I invite you out for an evening doesn't mean we are buddies. We are classmates and rivals who happen to be friendly to each other now and then, as civilized persons do."

Max could feel her face heat up. "I call bullshit. I am the closest thing to a real friend you've got here. Look me in the eyes and say that is not true," .Max retorted defiantly. Victoria looked into her eyes, her own green eyes glinting, but she said nothing. "So it's true then?" Max asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Perhaps, but it doesn't mean everything else I just said isn't also true. And why do you even care? What have I ever done for you?" Victoria gave her a cold stare.

"Not much, admittedly, but life isn't just a game of sums, Vee. Sometimes you get something you haven't earned, and sometimes you lose something that you deserved having. That's just how it is."

Victoria scoffed. "Hear, hear, wise words coming from a pretentious little hipster. Now leave me the fuck alone to ponder."

Victoria motioned to close the door, but Max put up a hand. "I'm in the laundry room for the next hour or so, if you want to talk."

"Talk, huh? Don't get your hopes up, Maxine." She shut the door in Max's face.

Max stood in silence, staring at the closed door for a while until she finally sighed, picked up the sack of laundry, and began to walk away towards the public areas. _Well done, Max, you just scored an outstanding A in the subject Failed Conversation._

* * *

Max did the laundry. She drank a soda and ate a candy bar from the vending machine. She cleaned her room, watered Lisa, and tried halfheartedly to play some guitar when she had done everything else she could think of. All the while, she stayed deep in thought. Of course, Victoria didn't came knocking, but she was the least of Max's problems right now. She had a lot to think about. Strange things had happened the past week, especially today. The thing that came up time and time again in her mind was the homeless lady and the way she had shouted at them down at the Two Whales. Max needed to talk to her, to learn who she was and what she knew, if anything. It should have given Max a sense of calm, of purpose, now that she knew what she had to do, but in reality it only gave her a feeling of unease.

Her phone was silent the whole evening, no calls and no texts. Max sat up late, not waiting for Chloe to call, not at all, but still she couldn't bring herself to go to bed. Not until the clock was way past midnight did she undress and creep in under the covers.

The bad weather had picked up force during the night and now the rain hammered against her windows and gusts rattled the panes in their frames. Usually Max loved to snuggle in under the blankets while the rain and wind washed and shook the world outside, but tonight she could find neither the mood nor the peace of mind. To calm herself, she tried to picture Chloe's smiling face in front of her, but it always ended up being the homeless woman staring back in the dark, her deep set eyes wide and her mouth working silently, mouthing words Max couldn't decipher. At first, the pictures of the strained, pale face scared Max, but eventually tiredness overcame her and she fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

That night, Max dreamed again. This time the freak storm was back, and more terrible than ever. It moved in over Arcadia Bay with a thunderous viciousness that shook the earth and took the breath out of her lungs. Lightning flashed and rumbled continuously as the monstrous tornado ripped its way through the town, flinging cars, boats, utility poles, and pieces of houses up into the air, flattening whole blocks and uprooting trees and breaking them like matchsticks. She sailed high over it all on huge black-feathered wings that rippled in the wind. Far down below she saw people, men, women, and children, obviously caught by surprise, running and screaming in fear. They were being sucked up into the air and crushed or ripped to pieces by the hard winds or flying debris. Over the thunder and the forceful wailings of the storm, she heard another sound—a mad, high-pitched, cruel and cackling noise that sent icy chills down her spine. Body shivering and heart beating rapidly, she searched everywhere for the source of the frightening sound, until she finally understood. It came from her. She was laughing.


	9. Chapter 8

The room felt wrong. Once again Max woke up covered in cold sweat. When she tried to sit up in her rumpled bed she discovered that she couldn't move. It was like som invisible force pushed her heavily down into the mattress, cold claw like hands clamping down on her arms and legs, fixating her in place. Her head felt like it was nailed in place against the cushion. In the corner of her eye she discerned a sudden movement. A shadowy figure stood watching her, not more than five paces away, yet the figure was no more than a hazy silhouette. It was slender, almost like a child, but taller. Though the scene shouldn't arouse terror in anyone, Max felt her breathing pick up speed as the panic slowly crept from her stomach and out over her rigid body and limbs. Was there really someone else in the room with her, or was her tired mind just playing tricks? Max steeled herself and tried to focus on the dark shape in the corner, which was hard when she couldn't move her neck, but the more she focused on it, the less distinct it became. It was almost as if it became sharper when she let it linger in her peripheral vision.  
Max started to relax. She had heard of this phenomenon; it was called sleep paralysis. It could be terrifying not being able to move, and it wasn't unusual that it was accompanied by scary hallucinations, but she just had to wait this out and it would pass. Sometime it took seconds, sometimes minutes, but never longer than that. Max turned her eyes away from the shadow and stared up at the ceiling, still fighting with feelings of heavy discomfort. Slowly, slowly they started to ease.

Then she heard something. It was faint, but unmistakably. A step.

And another one.

And another.

Chills ran up and down her spine as Max desperately tried to turn against the sound, and out of the shadows something came. Her heart almost stopped. It was a human form; it was Max herself, or rather a spitting image of her, stumbling closer over the darkened floor. Stark naked, skin pale as the belly of a fish, the hair plastered against the skull like if the head was drenched in sludge. From empty eye sockets seeped dark putrid fluid down over the cheeks and dripped down on the chest, and between her breasts was a gaping hole. Max could see crude cuts into the flesh around the deep pit of a wound, hints of splintered bone glinted down below in the darker flesh. The heart was missing. Max tried to get away, to scream for help, to do anything. But she was still held firmly in the grip of paralyse.

The pale nightmarish Max towered over her where she lay in bed, still paralysed, the dark unseeing eye-holes bored down at her as the creature that also was Max bowed down over her and closed its icy fingers around Max's shoulders. Then it slowly and with visible effort gaped the mouth wide open, displaying rows upon rows of murky teeth. Up from the darkness of its throat welled a damp and uncompromising stench like from the grave. The creature coughed, a wet squelching sound from deep within. Then it screamed. Max joined in.

The door banged open and the dorm room was suddenly filled with light. Someone rushed to her bedside and began to shake her.

"Max! Max, whats the matter?"

The spell was broken. Max could move again, and the nightmarish apparition that seconds ago had stood hunkered over her was gone. With a heaving sob Max sat up in bed and grabbed at the person at her side. It didn't matter who it was; it was a real, warm, living person. A person who didn't smell like death. She needed to be close to someone real or else she was sure that she would go insane.  
A nightmare. It had just been a nightmare, another damn nightmare, but still, just a nightmare.

Max held and was held for what seemed like a long time, until she was no longer sobbing uncontrollably and the tears had stopped flowing. With a deep breath Max released the embrace and opened her eyes. She saw a delicate blue silk fabric, where tears and snot had formed a big ugly stain. Max looked up and whispered. "Victoria?"

Victoria looked down at her with an unreadable expression, but she didn't utter a sound.

"I'm sorry, Vee," Max continued with a small voice, "I think I've ruined your pyjama."

"Yeah, well, don't worry about it, I've got some spares." Victoria said and then sighed. "But what the fuck happened in here? You screamed like an animal brought to slaughter. Scared the living bejesus out of me."

"I… I think I had a nightmare."

"You think?" Victoria shot her an annoyed look. "It must have been the mother of all nightmares the way you sounded. I thought you were being murdered, at the very least."

Victoria rose from the bedside and picked up something from the floor on her way to the open door. It was an alarm clock, a stylish, heavy, square piece of metal. A cord that seemed to be ripped at the socket dangled from it. It looked kind of limp and sad. Victoria glanced down at it then back at Max with a furrowed brow.

"If you are okay now I think I want to go back to sleep. Busy day tomorrow and yada yada."

Max stared at the very out of place time piece in Victoria's hand.

"Um, why..?" She began.

"Well," Victoria said and almost seemed a bit embarrassed, "As I said, I though you were being assaulted, and I didn't want to barge in here unarmed, so I grabbed the first thing I saw," She waggled the ragged end of the electric cable back and forth, "The joke's on me I guess."

"Oh, Vee," Max said, "I'll buy you a new one of course, I promise."

Victoria scoffed and shook her head.

"Don't bother. This is a German vintage model, they don't make them any more. And I can probably have it fixed. But, there is one thing you can do for me, Maxine."

"Sure, name it and I'll do it."

"The next time you have a nightmare, put a sock in it, will you?"

Victoria walked out and had almost closed the door behind her when she popped her head back in again.

"And by the way, Max, you really should air out this room and scrounge up a Febreeze or something. It stinks like hell in here."

The door closed and Max lay back down on the bed in darkness. Strangely enough she didn't feel scared any more. Whatever had happened here, whatever had visited her, in her dreams or in reality or whatever, had been chased away by the mere presence of Victoria. She felt like it was a lesson to be learned there somewhere, and was a great comfort having Victoria close, just on the other side of the corridor. Max pulled up the blanket around her and turned her back to the room. Soon she was snoring calmly.

Down on the school parking lot, Chloe stood leaning against her trusted old truck, a cigarette in her hand and blowing smoke into the wind like a chimney. Her face broke up in a grin when Max came walking. She waved her cigarette.

"Ohoy there, matey. Ready to do battle?"

Max felt her heart throb at the sight of the unruly bluenette at her rusty old truck. Of course she had parked over no less than three parking spaces. Yeah. Luckily there wasn't that many cars here this Sunday morning. She waved back at Chloe as she jumped down the short stairs from the Blackwell grounds to the tarmac of the parking and skipped up to the truck with a big smile on her face.

"No battle, Chloe, it's just a picnic. No need to fight the man today."

"Yeah? If you say so." Chloe gave her a warm smile in return. "Then let's go picnic the shit out of this, um, picnic."

Max gave her a worried look. "Chloe…"

Chloe crossed her arms and poked out her tongue at Max in an impish grin.

"I know, I know, that's just who I am. Either I do something, or I don't. There is no in-between."

Max nodded to that because, yeah, she knew that already.

Chloe wiggle her eyes to her, "Will that cutie pie be there by the way? Katie?" Then she turned and walked round the trucks large hood to climb in at the drivers seat.

Max rolled her eyes behind Chloe's back. Was she aiming to make Max jealous or what? Probably not. Which, in a way, was even worse. Max climbed in on the passenger side and slammed the door shut, while Chloe turned the ignition. The truck gave off a coughing noice, then died. Chloe slammed the steering wheel in irritation.

"Oh, what the fuck."

Max looked at her.

"Problems?"

Chloe pulled the choke and started to pump the pedal.

"No problems. So. About Katie…"

"Kate. Yes you know she will as she is the one organising this. And that means no alcohol or drugs, Chloe. Kate is very serious about stuff like that."

"Boo."

Chloe threw the cigarette stump out the window and tried the ignition once more, mumbling under her breath.

"Yeah, Rach mentioned that, so I have a backup plan."

"Good." Max said, relieved, "That reminds me, I need to stop by the store to get something to eat and drink, myself. Never got around to it yesterday."

The truck rattled to life, its engine rumbled violently as Chloe gave it more gas. Soon the world around them were hidden by a cloud of dirty smoke. They started to roll while Chloe grinned and gave her a look.

"Nope, you don't, I have it all taken care of. Well, mom took care of it. She was really happy I could join you on this excursion I think."

"You told Joyce about the picnic? Not that you shouldn't have, I mean, it just a bit out of character."

"Well, I didn't. It was Rachel who spilled the beans, the little snitch. Maybe that was good or else we would had just beer for picnic today. And that would've been awkward."

"Yay for Rachel. How is she by the way? Won't she come?"

"We'll pick her up on the way. She has moved her stuff to the crows nest. Looks like she will be staying there from now on."

"The crows nest? What's that?"

"It's a place at an old junkyard just north of town. Our special hideaway so to speak."

"Oh, that, I know it," Max said, before she realised that was not in this reality. She cursed herself silently.

"You do?" Chloe gave her a surprised glance. "How come?"

"Well, I know __about__ it, I mean. I think you told me earlier."

"I did?" Chloe looked a bit confused. "Can't remember that. Maybe I should cut down on the weed, makes my brain murky it seems."

Max decided to change the subject.

"What happened yesterday? Did Rachel have a fight with her parents?"

Chloe laughed out loud, though definitely not a friendly, happy laugh.

"Oh, big time, baby. The jerks have frozen her bank account, because they are afraid she will run away. And, I kid you not, they have taken her driver license too. That only makes her even more hellbent on getting the fuck away from this miserable town. So, not a smart move on their behalf, all in all."

"They really did that?" Max said, and Chloe shook her head in dismay.

"Yeah, what a total a dick move, huh? Something David could pull off for sure, it I had any money in the bank, but Rachel was really taken by surprise."

"So that's what the big fight was about then."

"Yup. It's her father mostly I think. Mr high horses district attorney; once an asshole, always an asshole. Rose is pretty chill, once you crack that that polished shell of hers. Though I don't think she really like me very much either."

That was not fair. Chloe was an honest and lovable person. Just because she looked and acted different, or, well, trashy, some might say, people tended to depreciate her. Which was just so wrong. Max felt anger bubble up inside her.

"Then they don't know you. I bet they blame you for all Rachels troubles too, right?"

"They sure do, aaaand not entirely without grounds." Chloe snickered, a mischievous grin spread over her face. She looked so much like the Chloe Max remembered from days of old, though the source of Chloe's affection was new. Max felt an icy hand grasp around her heart. She answered, with maybe a little more heat than she had intended, just to counter that chill.

"It's __not__ your fault, Chloe. Rachel is a big girl, she can rebel against her parents all on her own. You are probably just another way for her to rebel against them."

Chloe looked hurt.

"Is that what you think? Really, Max? You don't know shit about us."

Max instantly regretted taking it too far. It was her own jealousy that had spoken, no doubt about it, but she couldn't really tell Chloe that. Not now, not yet. Not… ever?

"Chloe, I didn't mean…"

"We are this close, Max." Chloe put her hand with two finger crossed right in front of Max's nose, which made her flinch, "And have been ever since we met five years ago."

Chloe gave her another glance, her stare stung like a pair of needles.

"So, where were you five years ago, huh? When my life was totally fucked over?"

Max opened her mouth to retort, or rather to explain, but she couldn't find words. Not good words, not bad words, not any words. In the uncomfortable silence that ensued, only the low rumbling from the old battered truck's engine and the creaking of the springs in the ragged seat was heard. Chloe gave her an icy look, but her cheeks were flaming. Then she turned her gaze back on the road and muttered:

"Yeah, that's right, Maxine. You shut the fuck up."

Max turned her head and stared out on the endless parade of firs and pines that passed by outside the car window, and shut the fuck up.

When they finally pulled up at the junkyard, Chloe let out a long sigh.

"Good-ole American Rust. You won't believe how many hours I've spent here. It's almost more home than home."

The junkyard looked very much like Max remembered it from before, with the rusty dead bodies of cars piled up everywhere, and all kinds of debris and trash, big and small, tucked in between them and strewn about. Bushes and to Max unknown plants and flowers sprouted and grew in an un-orderly fashion everywhere. Though it was literally just a big dumping ground, the place definitely had its strange charm.

Chloe pulled the parking brake with a loud creaking noise and jumped out of the truck. She started to walk, but stopped and turned when Max didn't make a move from the passenger seat. Chloe tilted her head and gestured at her to follow.

"Come on, mad Max, get out from there and I'll show you the nest. It's pretty awesome, if I may say so."

Max obeyed, albeit slowly. As they started to walk between piles of litter Chloe put her long tattooed arm over Max's shoulders.

"I can't believe I have to explain everything to you, Max, but you __do__ know I'm happy that you are back, right? In spite of years past. I promise I'll never mention that again." Chloe held out her left fist to Max. "Cool?"

Max looked up at her tall friend while she wiped away the last tear from the corner of her eye. She hated that she had been crying; she really didn't want Chloe to feel pity for her. Chloe had every right to be angry, for many reasons. But still, it would be nice to not have to talk about those five years anymore, at least not to get into fights over it. Max touched Chloe's outstretched fist lightly with her own.

"Cool," She said, almost in a whisper.

They walked past the old Ford Deluxe where Chloe had shot herself by aiming at the bumper. It made Max stomach churn. What if Chloe did something stupid like that again? Or got herself stuck on the railroad track? Or what else death defying stunts Chloe could come up with just for the fuck of it? Max wouldn't be able to rewind time and save her then. But again, all the times Max had rewound time hadn't helped her in the long run anyway. Chloe had still ended up dead. Rachel too. One could wonder why this latest timeline would end up any different.

Max felt a hand ruffle around in her hair.

"Hey dude, cheer up now and I'll show you something really cool."

Chloe grabbed Max playfully by the shoulders and started to push her towards the little shack at the end of the junkyard. In the sunshine outside, on a big slab of concrete, Rachel sat smoking a cigarette. The rays of the rising fall sun made her hair look like it was made of spun gold, creating a warm halo around her head. Coupled with her thoughtful beautifully sculpted face, she really looked like a goddess thrown down to earth. Max suddenly, on a bodily level, understood why everyone adored Rachel. Rachel raised her hand lazily and waved when they approached.

Chloe let go of Max and waved back, her fingers in a sign-of-the-horns gesture.

"Yo, Rach, you ready to roll?"

"In a minute. Do you have the stuff?"

"Of course. I just want to show Max around first, as she hasn't been here before."

"Sure. I'm ready when you are." Rachel moved her gaze from the horizon and looked straight at Max. "Hello Max, by the way. Are you all right? You look tired."

"Um, yeah, I have these nightmares…" Max began but halted when she didn't know how much to say. The lesser the better, probably.

"Tell me about it." Rachel scoffed and flung a bit of ash into a nearby shrub, "My whole life is a nightmare right now. As you may have heard."

"Yes, I heard what your parents did. I'm really sorry, Rachel."

"Well, not as sorry as they will be. Just waiting for the right moment, then I'm outa here, for good."

"But they've got all your money?"

Rachel gave her a grim smile and shook her head.

"Not all. I still have some cash, and I can get more. There are ways."

Max was about to ask what ways when Chloe stuck out her head from the door behind them.

"Hey Max, come on in. We don't have all day."

The little house was almost exactly as Max remembered it, except there was no goodbye letter from Rachel to Chloe in the trashcan. Chloe threw herself down on the old car seat that served as the room's main seating and stretched out her long jeans clad legs. She switched on the little yellow battery radio that stood on the floor just beside her and rowdy music begun to play. Max had no idea what group or song it was.

"Welcome to the nest." Chloe said and splayed her arms around the little room. "So, what d'ya think?"

Max smiled.

"It's awesome, just the kind of place we dreamed of as kids."

Chloe beamed back and nodded. Then she started to dig in one of her front pockets. Chloe produced a stubby marker pen and threw it to Max, who just barely caught it with both hands.

"Okay, Max, there will be plenty of time for you to hang out with us here," Chloe said and winked at her, "but there's one thing I want you to do before we leave."

Max had a hunch what it was all about. Unable to talk, she thumbed at the rough concrete wall behind her back and raised her eyebrows at Chloe.

"Correct!" Chloe laughed and wiggled her gangly legs, "Add your name to the list and you are official crew."

Max turned and uncorked the pen. The strong scent from the tip almost made her a bit light-headed. On the wall stood:

 _ _Chloe was here__

 _ _Rachel was here__

She put the pen to the wall and scribbled underneath;

 _ _Max was here__


	10. Chapter 9

The road meandered through the beautiful coastal landscape on its way northeast of Arcadia Bay. The Overlook Park was located just a short drive from the junkyard, but on that time Chloe's mood changed from loudly cheerful to silent and tense. If it hadn't been for Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers blaring from the speakers at the highest volume, nearly cracking them, Max would've asked her what the matter was. As it was now she could barely hear her own thoughts.

Some clouds had started to appear on the sky, rolling in from the ocean, when they stopped at the Overlook's parking spot. The weather was unusually warm for the season and perfect for a fall picnic. If the trees hadn't been more yellow and red than green, it could easily be mistaken for a bright summer's day.

Per Rachel's instructions they parked beside a shining new red Maserati Quatroporte and got the two overfull cotton bags with food from the back of the truck. Rachel took her's and started to walk towards the wooden plank path that led down from the observation place to the prodigious meadowlands that was the Overlook Park below. Max hefted the bag she had been given and discovered it was really heavy. She put it down in surprise.

"Wow, how much food did Joyce make?"

"More than enough, for sure." Chloe answered, but she seemed distracted. She was fingering at the door handle with a distanced face. Rachel stood waiting at the start of the stairs.

"Come on folks, I'm hungry as a wolf, and we're already late."

Chloe waved at them.

"You go ahead. I need to check some stuff on the truck. I… I heard some noise I didn't like."

"Now?" Rachel looked annoyed.

"Yeah, better do it now, so we can get home later. I'll catch up with you."

"Alright." Rachel looked at Max. "You coming at least?"

"Yes, shortly." Max gave her an apologetic smile, but Rachel just shrugged, turned and begun to walk down the steps. Soon she was out of sight.

Max walked up to Chloe and put a hand on her arm.

"Hey, whats up?"

Chloe shrugged her off.

"Nothing, that's what up, just need to check on this, okay?"

Chloe climbed up on the back of the truck. It clinked suspiciously when her weight made the pickup shift slightly.

"Go meet with your fancy friends now. I'll be there in minute. Promise."

Max walked up to her and peeked over the rim. A big tarp covered almost all of the truck's back.

"What's this?"

"Oh, this." Chloe grabbed a corner of the tarpaulin and dragged it aside, disclosing rows upon rows of bags and boxes with beer and other alcoholic beverage. "It's for Rachel."

Max looked at the bottles and cans that seemed to cover over half of the available space, then back to Chloe, her eyes wide.

"All of it?"

"Yes, well, not exactly. She's organising this party for this snooty play-grownup club, the vor-shits whatever. I got her the booze."

Max hooked her elbows over the edge and studied the numerous boxes of beer and liquor of all kinds of brands and sorts. Gin, brandy, whiskey, wine, cider, vodka, rum and whatnot. It looked like it would be enough for the whole school many times over.

"Wowser, it's a lot!"

"Yeah, you might be surprised to hear that these contentious and diligent girls and boys are gulping it down like swines. I guess it's to be able to stand themselves. And the company, no doubt. I would definitely drink myself into oblivion if I was forced to attend."

"Is this legal? Where did you get it from?"

"It sure isn't, and if I told you I'd have to kill you."

"Okay, okay. But Chloe, remember, this picnic is an alcohol-free event."

"Yeah I know. You told me like fifteen minutes ago. And no way I will touch it." Chloe nodded at the precious cargo. "Bought and paid for by your uppest of upperclass friend. I'm just the lowly middle hand, earning a buck in the process."

Max had a hard time tear her eyes away, the sheer amount of alcohol both fascinated and frightened her. It was like an ominous promise of bad things to come. When Chloe covered it with the tarp again it woke her up. She looked back at Chloe.

"So, are you coming?"

"I said I would, did't I? Got to unload this stuff first, then I need to check the carburetor I think."

Chloe fetched her oily canvas roll with tools from the back of the truck and threw it down with a crash. Then she jumped down to the ground herself.

"If you want to stay and watch me doing it, fine."

Max somehow got the feeling Chloe wasn't at all fine with her staying. She sighed inwards.

"Nah, I better head down to the others with this." Max said and gestured to the bag at her feet, "See you soon then?"

"Sure." Chloe said, but it sounded more like a 'whatever.'

Max had to make several stops to rest her arms and hands on her way to where the large group of Blackwell students were sitting, and her arms felt a foot longer compared to when she had set out up at the observation place. Almost everyone in her year was there, and a lot of students from other years too. People were chatting and eating and drinking in the sunshine, and it looked like everyone was having a good time. Kate came skipping forward, clad in a voluminous flounce blouse that shone almost painfully white in the midday sun.

"Welcome, Max!"

She closed in and gave Max a quick hug. Kate smelled of honeysuckle, damp grass and sun.

"I'm so happy you could come. We're having a Jacob's join, so we all leave our food here and everyone can have what they want."

She gestured towards a pair of sturdy wooden tables with benches where others had put out food and drink of various sorts and qualities. It was an impressive amount, and a sizeable part of it was from Joyce; Max recognised the scuffed Tupperware and the delicious food in it. Rachel must've already packed up her bag. With a groan Max put down her own bag on the grass and flexed her shoulders. Kate smiled.

"That looks heavy, let me help you."

Kate took one handle of the washed out cotton bag and Max took the other. As they walked towards the tables, Kate peered around.

"Your blue-haired friend isn't coming? What was her name, Phoebe?"

"Chloe."

"Ah, yes, Chloe. Maybe it's just as good. She has a certain reputation, you know."

"No, she's… what reputation?"

Max had sounded pretty vexed, and she felt it too. She was fully aware of that Chloe probably had gotten a bad rap around some Blackwell students, but it irritated her that even Kate though that way about her; it was unlikely that they had even met before yesterday. Max couldn't help but glare at Kate, who started to fidget and look away.

"I am sorry Max, she is your friend. It wasn't my meaning to speak ill of her. But she doesn't belong at the academy after all."

"Chloe is a former Blackwell student so I think she belongs just fine, and she just got a bit delayed, that's all. She'll be here any minute."

Kate's cheeks had now taken on a reddish shade as she started to lift plastic containers of food from the bag and place them on the table.

"Oh, that's good. That's splendid. I'm very happy."

When they had put out the food, people immediately began queuing up to have a share of Joyce's waffles, bacon-rolled sausages, pancakes, fried salmon, grilled haddock, burgers, pizza slices and chicken salad. Even so, the mountain of food was far away from being depleted. Max loved Joyce's cooking, but for some reason she didn't feel hungry right now. Instead she turned to look for somewhere to sit. Max had wanted to talk to Kate, to brush up on what was happening in her life, and maybe try to rekindle, if you could call it that, the friendship they had had in the other timeline. But that feeling had waned considerably now.

Max searched the crowd for familiar faces. She saw Warren and Stella sitting a bit aside from the others, having a lively discussion. They were smiling and laughing and took every opportunity to touch. If Max had been unsure about what was going on between them, the looks that Brooke gave the pair from a couple of blankets away said it all.

 _Oh, Brooke, seems you have no luck in this timeline either._

The Vortex club members were in the middle of everything. She spotted Rachel and Nathan sitting and talking with Dana and Hayden. They all looked very happy. Victoria was there too, on Nathan's other side, together with her usual posse, but they didn't seem to participate in the discussion much. None of them noticed Max, and she was thankful for that.

Max mostly felt mildly panicked around Nathan. She couldn't shake the feeling that he somehow was a bomb just waiting to go off, though nothing in his demeanour supported that feeling. Actually he had been nothing but nice to her in this reality, and not much of a jackass to anyone else either to be fair. Max wanted to give him the benefit of a doubt, but still, she tended to avoid him if she could. So, that ruled out sitting with Rachel or Victoria. But where, then?

Justin or Trev where nowhere to be seen. It was probably the no-drugs rule that kept them away. Max felt the little smirk on her face and immediately wiped it out. That had been too bad a joke, but it was also too bad they weren't here. Not that Max herself was especially friendly with them, but Chloe knew them pretty well, and it would have been good for her to have some real friends around.

Where were Chloe by the way? Max looked over to the stairs climbing up the hillside towards where they had parked Chloe's truck, but couldn't catch sight of her anywhere.

Somewhere, someone was calling her name.

"Max!"

She turned towards the sound. Nathan had raised a hand and were beckoning to her.

"Max, over here. Come sit with us."

She hesitated for a second, then she shrugged and started to walk. Maybe the Vortex crowd was better than to sit alone at least. When she came closer Rachel and Hayden moved aside so she could sit down among them.

Nathan shifted towards her and gave her a smile that Max couldn't decide if it was ironic or amused.

"You looked a bit lost there," he said. "Everything alright?"

"Yes. Yes I am alright."

"Good to hear. Vic told me about your sleeping problems, so I was wondering…"

"Oh, she did?" Max blurted out and glanced at Victoria, who snorted and shrugged her shoulders in a nonchalant gesture. Two red spots did form on her cheeks, though.

"I just told him about how you keep waking me up in the middle of night. Through two damn doors _and_ a fucking corridor."

Now it was Max's turn to blush. But before she could reply, Nathan gave her a sympathetic look and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, it's that bad, is it?"

The touch made it crawl under her skin. When Max didn't get a word out her mouth, Nathan continued.

"You now, I have the same problem sometimes, both with nightmares and trouble falling asleep." Nathan made a small awkward smile.

"I have a CD with this weird new age whale song that I listen to. I know, It's kinda embarrassing, but it really helps me relax. Maybe you should try something like that?"

"Yeah, maybe." Max said, sounding even more dubious than she felt.

"Or you can just drink yourself unconscious. It also works, I can attest to."

Nathan winked at her.

"I don't…" Max said, then halted herself when she saw the twinkle of laughter in his eyes.

"…drink?"

"Oh, I know that, Max. Everyone knows that."

He shook his head.

"We are all very fascinated by how much sex you must have to not have to drink even a tiny little bit."

Max's face was now flaming hot.

"I don't–"

Everyone around her exploded in laughter. Rachel leaned forward and gave her a hug from behind, then placed a light kiss on her cheek. Her long hair tickled at Max's neck and shoulder.

"Oh, Max," she said, "We just admire that you can have fun without being drunk, that's all."

Max, still deeply blushing, feeling very embarrassed and maybe also a bit flattered, had trouble forming a single coherent thought. Instead she gave up and started to laugh with the rest, though her laughter may not have been the heartiest.

Then she saw Chloe.

She was standing some distance away, pale and silent as a ghost, just watching them. It was impossible to know for how long she had been standing there, but it was clear that none of the others had seen her yet.

"Talking about having fun," Nathan said, butting his shoulder against Max's, "We're having a party this Friday. Of course you are welcome if you want to. Right, Rachel?"

"Of course," Rachel said, still a smile on her elfin face, still holding an arm around Max's shoulders, "I didn't think you wanted to, but you are very welcome, Max."

Max was ridiculously much affected by having Rachel close, feeling her warmth against her back and shoulders, her breath against her neck and her jasmine scent in her nose. One half of Max just wanted to stay and snuggle up against Rachel forever, hopelessly caught in her siren song, her other half wasn't comfortable with that thought at all. One glance at Chloe, though, made her come to her senses.

"I'm sorry," Max said and rose abruptly, shrugging off Rachel's arm in the movement, "Excuse me."

Chloe crossed her arms when Max came closer. She had a big smudge of carbon residue or oil, or a mix of both, on her right cheek and a smaller one on her forehead, just above the left eyebrow. She wore a humourless smile on her face, and just to compensate, Max felt how she took on a wide grin on her own.

"Hi Chloe, I was afraid you couldn't find us."

"Me? Of course I could. I'm Sherlock fucking Holmes. And you lot aren't exactly any Professor Moriarties." She arched an eyebrow at her. "Though maybe you think you are."

"I would rather prefer to be your Watson."

Chloe's paused and scrunched her brow at that, but she said nothing, her face revealed nothing. The smile was gone from her face and she reeled a bit when she walked by. Max instinctively stretched out a hand to steady her when she passed.

"Wait, let's clean you up a bit first."

Max searched her pockets for a paper hankie, but Chloe pushed her away, not really hard but firmly enough for Max to stumble a step backwards. Chloe's dirty hands left dark stains on Max's grey hoodie.

"No babying, Max."

It had just been a brief whiff, but it was unmistakable. The smell made Max's nose sting.

"Chloe, have you been drinking?"

Chloe faced her, her expression blank. Very blank.

"No, of course not."

Max crossed her arms and stared into those electric blue eyes that she had known since forever and she didn't let go.

"Are you cereal? I can smell it."

"Cereal? We are grownups now aren't we?" Chloe said, balancing on her heels. "Responsible adults, like, Mature Max and Cultivated Chloe?"

When Max just continued her stare Chloe threw up her hands.

"Alright, alright, you got me," she grumbled, "But who cares. It was just a tiny sip, to give me strength to endure."

Chloe shot a glance at the group of students, all still having a picnic, eating and chatting away. She leaned in and whispered in Max's ear.

"Your new besties over there won't care, I guarantee it."

This close, Chloe's breath revealed that it must have been a tad more than just a sip. Max involuntarily flinched and wrinkled her rose.

"Chloe…" she began, but Chloe had already turned her back on her and continued walking in long unstable strides to where the others sat on blankets in the sunny grass. She stomped into their midst and curtsied, accidentally spilling out someones glass of juice over her boot.

"Good dawning to thee, nerds and jollyfolks."

Chloe looked around with a wide grin, but she only got some scattered greetings and not the cheer and shouts of enjoyment that she might have been fishing for. She turned to Rachel sitting between Nathan and Hayden and gave her an even deeper bow that almost made her topple over. "And salutem plurimam dicit, fairest lady. Your precious inebriates are now unloaded and ready for–"

Rachel frowned and signed at Chloe to cut it.

"Yeah, sorry, hush hush." Chloe zipped her mouth shut with pinched fingers. "I forgot y'all are in prig mode and not party-pig mode today. My apologies, mademoiselle."

All the vortex members where suddenly silent and looking everywhere except at Chloe. Kate walked up to her and struck up a stiff smile.

"Welcome to our picnic, Chloe. If you would follow me please?"

Kate led the way to the tables, and Chloe swayed after. Unsteadily and with a scrunched brow, she stood and watched the food for a long time until Kate cleared her throat. Chloe gave her a confused glance.

"Where's the, uh, plates and stuff?"

"You have to bring your own plate and cutlery. For the environment, you know."

"Ah, okay."

Chloe started to load up food in her arms. When it was so much so it started spill over, she pulled out the bottom hem of her tank top to form a kind of container and dropped the food down there instead.

Kate stared at her in fascination, then she cleared her throat a second time, now accompanied by a meaningful look at Chloe.

"It's supposed to be a Jacob's join, where we all contribute."

Chloe grabbed a chicken club and put it in her mouth, then, after wiping her hand on her trouser leg, continued to scoop up salad directly from the bowl with a sooty hand.

"Yesh I gdow." She said through the chicken club.

With a forced smile, Kate took the half-empty salad bowl from her hands and put it away under the table.

"So…?"

"So," Chloe paused until she had chewed the meat of the chicken club and spitted out the bone on the grass.

"I think I've contributed more than enough."

She picked up a carton of fruit juice and balanced it on top of the food, leaving Kate standing there with a flushed face. Chloe tottered over to where Rachel and Hayden and the rest of the vortex people were sitting, leaving a string of spilled food along the way.

"Scoot over, frat boy."

Without waiting for Hayden to move, she clumsily wedged herself in between them. She turned to Rachel and held out her tank top where the foodstuff had mixed into a greasy mess of vegetables, sausages, potatoes, bread, meat and fish.

"Want some? It's good."

Rachel shook her head. Chloe looked down with a thoughtful face.

"Alright, I better eat all I can, there'll be oatmeal and water at home now for the next quarter I would think."

She ate under silent concentration. Everyone around her had stopped talking and the mood that earlier had been so relaxed had definitely become tense and uneasy. Chloe didn't seem to notice, instead she just continued to eat methodically from her dirty tank top doubling as a plate.

Something small hit her on the shoulder. An olive? Chloe absently stroked her hand over the spot where it had hit and continued eating.

Another olive bounced on the back of her head and landed right in front of her.

Behind her someone whooped triumphantly.

Chloe stiffened and turned her head around. A couple of meters behind her sat a gang of hunks from the year below Max's. They were definitely Vortex club - material according to their looks and clothing style.

"Dude, what's your problem?" Chloe asked them, not sure of whom to look at.

"Your ass-ugly punk face is my problem." The blonde, good-looking one in the middle said. Max was almost certain his name was Sebastian. "What the hell are you doing here anyway? Someones social extracurricular activity or what?"

His grin was painfully superior and his friends sniggered around him.

Chloe rose up on unsteady legs. She looked pretty grubby with her food-stained tank top, smudged face and dirty, oil-spattered jeans. She swayed noticeably where she stood and brushed away the last grimy crumbs from her front.

"Look, she's high as a kite," One of the guys said, Max didn't know his name. The remark made all of them laugh.

Chloe put her hands to her sides and stared down at them, though it looked like she had some problem focusing.

"I was really expecting more from you fancy college educated people. Color me disappointed," She shook her head.

"I mean, is that the best y'all you could come up with? Ass-ugly? High as a kite?

The boys fell silent and stared back at her. Rachel looked up with a tense face and gestured to Chloe to sit down, but Chloe waved her away.

"No-no, I want to have a chat with these jolly chums. Socialize a bit, you know?"

"Sad fucking dope-head!" Someone from the gang shouted. Chloe made a deep bow, almost losing balance.

"And I'm Chloe Elizabeth Price, pleased to meet you."

There were some laughter at that. Chloe started to walk up and down, imitating the voice and gestures of Blackwell's drama teacher Mr Keaton with some success. That she was visible drunk only made it funnier.

"For attending the oasis of arts and science," she began in his high pitched, sensitive voice, "You are showing a sru… spur… surprising lack of imagination."

"Fuck off, weirdo!" Someone shouted.

Chloe belched loudly and brought up her hand with the index finger outstretched, pointing up.

"Case in point, my dear." Then she put her finger to her nose, just like Mr Keaton. "Though I did like the extracurricular quip, We're on to something there. Let's extrapolate."

"No, let's fuck with Chloe the hoe!"

Max looked over to where Kate sat. She had become pale as a piece of paper and were staring to where Chloe and the guys having their 'discussion'. It really looked like she was frozen in ice. Chloe, on the other hand, didn't seem to care at all about the jeers and taunts being thrown at her. Max wished there was something she could do, but what?

"Well, listen here," Chloe said in a slightly patronising voice, "First of all, I must respectfully decline. And second, instead of saying 'fuck' and 'whore', you could for example use something more distinguished, to show your superiority both in status and intelligence, like..."

Here Chloe took a theatrical pose worthy of any classically schooled actor, except for the visible unbalance. She opened one hand, holding it up before her face, her gaze directed at the horizon, her visage somewhere between stupefied and thoughtful;

"This woman's an easy glove, she goes off and on at pleasure."

She stood swaying and looking back at Sebastian. When she didn't get any response, she continued;

"No? Okay, how 'bout 'Chloe, thy sin's not accidental, but a trade'?"

Chloe smiled jovially at Sebastian, while his buddies were now giggling at his apparent woes. It was clear that Sebastian was thinking hard to come up with a good response. Chloe gave him a couple of seconds before she continued.

"So! Let's try something else then. You will find that the annals of history provides you with a never-ending source of insults, if you know where to look. If you for example would want to tell me that I'm ass-ugly you might instead say: 'The tartness of your face sours ripe grapes,' or maybe you could shout 'Chloe, thou lump of foul deformity!' if you want something more direct. And you must agree that 'fuck off weirdo' is pretty one-dimensional and not up to the expected level of sophistication. Instead you could say: 'Begone, thou elvish-mark'd, abortive, rooting hog!' Or something like that, if you really wanted to show that you're up to snuff."

Chloe showed that she was waiting for a response, but Sebastian was still speechless, his face started to go red, which made his friends giggle even more. After what seemed like a long time he finally blurted;

"Shut up, fuck-face!"

"Oh, come on now," Chloe said as she threw up her hands in dismay. "Even your friends think you can do better than that."

"You… you fucking…" Sebastian stuttered.

"Chawbacon?" Chloe suggested with a helpful smile. "People could certainly call me that. Heck, I even do it myself from time to time."

"No, fucking…"

"Grumbletonian nimenog? I've been known to be called that. Or at least something in that spirit."

"No, you fucking… fucking…"

Sebastian's face was now almost purple in anger.

"Ultracrepidarious abydocomist, perhaps?" Chloe said and raised an eyebrow. "I don't agree, but I know some definitely think I am. Maybe you right now, even?"

"No! Fucking–"

"Cockalorum? Rumbumptious shabaroon? Pickmedainty clack-box?"

"Shut up and let me think! you fucking - fucking…"

Sebastian grabbed a mug and threw at her in frustration. By sheer luck she swayed out of the way and it sloshed past Chloe by a couple of inches. She gave him a concerned look.

"I'm not implying that you are stupid, but maybe you could at least try a little before opening your mouth?"

Sebastian's friends started laughing openly around him. Sebastian himself stared back at Chloe, his eyes aflame in anger.

"Like… like knowing the wordbook makes you smart, fucking _wisenkoff_!" He shouted back.

Chloe nodded her head in mock seriousness.

"No, very true, it doesn't. At most it would make me an idiot savant, if that was all I knew. But, not _even_ _knowing words_ makes you look like a plain idiot, am I not right?"

Sebastian's friends were laughing hysterically now. One of them punched him on the shoulder and, with tears of laughter in his eyes, sputtered;

"Just give it up, dude. That bitch is seriously kicking you ass, one arm tied behind her back."

Sebastian started to rise.

"I'm going to bash her ugly fucking skull in." He thundered, but around him hands pulled him back down.

"Woah, take it easy, man, calm down. She's not worth it."

Chloe stood and watched Sebastian steam in anger for a while. When they finally got eye contact again, she gave him a crooked smile and a nod.

"End of class", She declaimed and made a theatrical bow to her audience, then she sat down and gave Rachel a big grin. Chloe began to put an arm around Rachel's shoulders, but Rachel moved to the side and pushed her arm away.

"You though that was funny, didn't you?" Rachel snarled.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I did. I'm glad I finally could find some use for all that Shakespeare I've read with you."

Chloe slowly gave Rachel a confused look.

"You mean you didn't?"

"Sebastian is actually a nice guy when you get to know him."

"Sure, once you get past the flinging stuff in your head phase he is probably a sweet kid." Chloe scoffed and reached for the topped over juice carton laying in the grass.

Rachel hissed in frustration.

"I bet you don't even see this, but everywhere you go, there is conflict and anger. To you it's just a game, isn't it? Sometimes I'm not sure you live in reality. These people here, " Rachel gestured around, "They are real people, with feelings and wants and whatever of their own. Do you see that? They are not cartoon figures that you can to push around to your liking. Why do you just always have to prove that you can win every argument? Why must everything be a contest?"

Chloe removed the juice box from her mouth and stared at Rachel. She put an arm up and dried a chin that was dripping wet from fruit juice.

"You think this little episode was my fault?"

"Coming here drunk as an ass, throwing insults around you. What did you think would happen? Being friends with you can be a real nuisance sometimes."

Chloe stared at Rachel, then continuing to stare down in the grass.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for being a nuisance. I should've just taken it I guess. Having things thrown at me, being called names while everyone laughs. That's just what a low-life like me should expect. And deserve."

Slowly she crumpled the empty carton in her hand. When she looked up at Rachel, her eyes were dark.

"So, I should know my place. Say nothing when getting jumped on, because it would annoy you?"

"No, Chloe, and don't be such a huge-ass drama queen. I'm just saying that everything doesn't have to be about you all the time. Can't you just try to fit in for once? I don't know why you even came here if you knew you would hate it so much."

A small wrinkle had formed between Chloe's eyes.

"Because someone talked to my mom, and after all that food she made, and all the work she put into it, it would break her heart if I didn't go?"

Rachel's face went still.

"What are you insinuating, Chloe?"

"Nothing, I'm just stating the facts."

Rachel exhaled between her teeth and rolled her eyes.

"What facts? More like you don't make any sense."

"Well, let's use a little deduction here." Chloe said, "You two, mom and you, have a little chat, and voilá she's emptying the larders and stays up all night cooking for this stupid, pathetic picnic. What do you make of it?"

"You think I had anything to do with that?"

"Well, that's the beauty of it. You don't have _do_ anything. Not outright. Just a word here and there, a glance, a gesture, and she caught on to what you meant."

Rachel laughed out, a cold laugh. She shook her head in amazement.

"Yeah? And what did I mean?"

Chloe stared back, the wrinkle between her eyes deepened.

"That I would be welcomed here. That I would have a great time, getting new friends. 'Better' friends than the regular losers and dope-heads I hang out with. That was her hope. I can't believe mom really believed that, though. Not after everything that has happened. But you are good at this stuff, I give you that."

"You _are_ welcome here, if you stop behaving like a jerk!"

Chloe sighed and shook her head.

"You just don't get it, Rachel. Do you know what your biggest fault is?

"Oh haven't I got a feeling you're about to tell me just about now." Rachel said with a humourless voice.

"Well, bingo. The truth is, though, is that you never have to struggle. Everybody loves you no matter what. And I mean everybody. You can have whatever you want, you succeed at whatever you do."

"That's simply not true on so many levels."

"No? Your biggest problem right now is what? That you can get to your fat bank account? If you'd done like me there wouldn't be anything they could've done to you."

"Like you? Spending all my money on, um, weed?"

"Not that part, though you've never said no to my spliffs that I can remember. But keeping it all in cash, not even having a bank account. They can't take away what you haven't got."

Chloe stared out in the distance.

"That should be my credo, by the way."

Rachel wasn't impressed, she just shook her head.

"No, Chloe, you're actually the last one I would take financial advice from, but my real problem is that dad won't let me go back to L.A. He wants me to go to fucking Harvard, if you remember?"

"Yeah, what a catastrophe. Did you ask for permission to run away, by the way, and your dad happened to decline?"

Before Rachel could answer, Chloe gave her a little sardonic smile.

"I don't think you fully grasp he meaning of the phrase 'run away', Rach. Ask yourself this instead; why are you still here? I've been ready to leave with you for the last five years. You know, five _years_. Been ready since the day we met, if you remember?

Chloe waited until Rachel reluctantly gave her a small nod, before she continued.

"Yeah. But from you it was just empty talk, wasn't it? When it comes to actually doing it, you're just a wuss, like everyone else. Your life's just too comfortable, with your loving, overprotecting dad and your old, cozy room, your theatre classes, your fancy rich friends, your fucking parties and whatnot."

Chloe stared at Rachel with a mouth thin as a line. Rachel stared back, with a no less annoyed face.

"Tell me I'm wrong. " Chloe said in a challenging tone. Then she slowly shook her head, as something seemed to dawn on her. Her mouth started to form a bitter smile, but her eyes did not laugh.

"Or maybe the truth is you never ever intended to. It was just a nice thought to entertain. To make you feel like you were revolting, living free and wild and all that shit. Maybe the sole purpose of hanging out with me was so you could feel like a rebel. Drugs, sex and rock'n'roll, huh? But, actually, you are not a rebel, Rach. So fucking not."

"Okay, Chloe," Rachel said, "Your'e obviously very drunk, and I'm tired of this conversation and where it's heading. I just can't believe how fucking righteous and self centered you are. I mean, Chloe, come on!"

"Self centered? Me? I'd do everything for you, you know that. You're the one doing whatever you feel for, not keeping your promises and shit."

Rachel stood up.

"I've heard enough, and believe me, Chloe, I will be leaving. And I'm not asking for anyone's permission."

"Really?" Chloe said, with a face full of mock surprise, "Then let me say a deep, sincere, 'finally'."

Rachel stared at her, her eyes were shooting lasers that would've burned a lesser being into a crisp, then she turned and walked away without a word.

All where staring at Chloe now, and the silence was total. She stood up and raised her voice so everyone could hear, including Rachel.

"Don't you worry about Rachel, she'll be back."

Chloe looked around towards the rest of the picnic. The awkward silence stretched on.

"So, how is everyone doing? Enjoying yourself?" Chloe said. "And the food! Look at this fucking cornucopia." She pointed to the tables. "Would be sad to let it go to waste, dontcha think? So go stuff your faces now, but I will need all the containers back later."

Suddenly Chloe was pushed hard in she back. She stumbled forward. Sebastian had snuck up on her from behind, and now he stood there, his face flaming in anger.

"Piss off, fucking junkhead," He snarled. I'm tired of hearing your annoying voice droning on. We all are."

"Dude, what did I tell you about–"

"Before or after I kick your ass, _dude_."

Sebastian towered over Chloe as he said with a voice like gravel grinding on stone; "Your choice."

Everyone could feel the promise of violence hanging heavy in the air. Everyone except Chloe of course. Instead she immediate started to strike up some sarcastic answer. Kate ran towards them, arms flailing.

"Please! No fighting!" She screamed.

Chloe came sailing through the air after a forceful push from Sebastian. She hit Kate face on and together they crashed into the tables, food flying everywhere and spilling all over them. Somehow Chloe had managed to turn in the air, grab Kate and put herself between Kate and the table, protecting her both from the impact and most of the spill. Now Chloe staggered to her feet, dripping wet from a broken carafe of ice-tea. She was grimacing and clutching her side where she had slammed into the edge of the table.

Everybody seemed to whoop and cheer and laugh at the spectacle. Well, Chloe was not laughing. Neither were Max, nor Rachel. And definitely not Kate. Kate stood on her hands and knees, smears of food and drink all over her blouse, trousers and hair. She was crying in deep heartrending bawls.

With some effort, Chloe kneeled at her side and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey."

"It's all your fault," Kate sobbed loudly.

"I'm sorry, peach, I really didn't mean to. Everything just…"

Chloe sighed and started to remove onion rings and pieces of fried fish from Kate, but her fumbling hands left streaks of fat and soot on her clothes. Kate sat up and pushed her hands away angrily. Chloe backed away.

"No need to get angry, just trying to help."

"But you are _not_ helping! Can't you just leave? You…" Kate snivelled, tears flowing down her cheeks. "You have destroyed everything. My clothes, the picnic, just… everything."

Kate started to cry again.

"I–" Chloe began, but Kate shook her head at her.

"Please, just go!"

With a deep sigh, Chloe nodded.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that."

Chloe was clearly in pain as she got up and started to limp away.

A cheer rose from some of the onlookers.

"About time!" Someone shouted.

Chloe turned and started to back away while giving them all two middle fingers. When she turned around again she walked straight into a tree trunk. With a discernible thud she smacked her face right into the rough bark and landed hard on her rump. She sat there for a while, dazed, while people were now whooping and cheering even more. A couple of guys even laughed and pointed.

"So quickly God punishes the wicked!" Someone shouted over the calamity.

Slowly Chloe got up on her feet again, carefully touching her nose and brow. Even from this distance Max should see that she was red and chafed all over her face. Max started to move towards Chloe, her heart in her throat, but she froze in her tracks when Chloe gave her a look with eyes like burning coal, tears of pain glinting in their corners.

"Stay away from me, Max." She hissed. "I don't need you. I don't need _anyone_."

Chloe looked over to where Rachel stood by herself, a good distance away from everybody else, face tense and white in emotion. Chloe raised her voice.

"Do you hear that, Rachel? I don't need you! And great friends you've got, by the way. Very welcoming, really nice guys."

When Rachel turned her back at her and started to walk, Chloe raised her voice even more, almost screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Yeah, just walk away, that's great. And don't count on me saving your ass again and again! You can go to L.A., or hell, or wherever you fucking want. You won't see me care. One. Bit!"

Chloe's voice broke when she continued;

"You bullshitting, selfish, heartless bitch!"

Max watched helplessly as Chloe disappeared limping along the track leading back towards the stairs to the parking lot. Max could feel the small hair on the back of her neck tingle in alarm. She couldn't leave Chloe alone in this state, that much was clear. But Chloe would probably not accept her being around, so Max would need help if she was to get her under control. She looked around but couldn't find one single helpful face. Rachel was nowhere to be seen, though Max didn't have high hopes of getting any help from her anyway. Most of her other class mates flocked around Kate, who were still sitting in spilled food, still weeping miserably.

"Well, that derailed quickly," A voice behind her said. When Max turner around, Victoria was standing there, eyes wide in mirth or shock, or maybe both. Her upstage grin was a bit strained, though. Victoria slowly shook her head in amazement.

"I had no idea anyone could fuck up a picnic this bad. For the first time ever, Chloe has me really impressed."

"It's not funny, Vee," Max grumbled.

Victoria tilted her head and pouted with red lips at Max.

"It's a tiny bit funny I think."

"No, it's not. Come, I need your help."

Max grabbed Victorias hand and started to drag her along. Victoria, totally unprepared for the tug, stumbled after.

"Wait, Max. Help with what?"

Max continued to lead Victoria towards the stairs leading up to the parking.

"I have to help Chloe, and I need backup."

"Oh, no, I'm not helping you with that!"

Victoria began to tug back, though only half-heartedly. Max dragged harder.

"Yes, you are."

When Victoria continued to protest, both verbally and physically, Max turned and faced her, still holding Victoria's hand securely in her's.

"Look, you will probably not have to do anything, but if I need assistance, you are the only girl in school as tall and strong as Chloe."

Victoria scoffed.

"Stronger, no doubt. I only smoke at parties, while she–"

"Yeah, okay, stronger then. So?"

After a brief pause, Victoria furrowed her brow and sighed.

"Okay, fine. I'll be the brawn to your brain."

Then she pointed at Max with her free hand.

"But for the record, you owe me one for this, _cherie_."

Without a further word, they continued up the path to search for Chloe.

When Max and Victoria finally stumbled out on the observation plateau after climbing the stairs, they were totally out of breath. Victoria struggled to a nearby bench and sat down.

"Geez, I need to rest just a sec."

Max sank down heavily beside her.

"Agree, I really need to exercise more." She panted, her heart was still beating hard in her chest, but not as bad as a moment ago when she had been afraid it would burst.

"You?" Victoria wheezed, "You ran like a gazelle. I could barely keep up."

They both leaned back for a breather, but Max didn't wait many seconds before she grabbed her mobile phone and made a call for the umpteenth time. No-one picked up this time either.

"She's not answering?" Victoria asked. Her face was still flushed from the effort, small drops of sweat glistered on her forehead.

"No, no answer." Max said and swatted the phone down against her thigh. They really should've caught up with Chloe now, if she had come this way.

 _Where the hell are you Chloe?_

"Man, I must stink…"Victoria muttered as she started to search her purse. She got out a small anti-perspirant spray can and began to douse herself. The scent of some exclusive brand that Max had no idea what it was filled the air. Victoria offered the gold and burgundy colored metal can to Max.

"Need some?"

Max was just about to decline when they heard a distant crash and a shattering of glass. They both jumped to their feet.

"What the fuck was that?" Victoria said, her eyes wide.

"No idea, but it came from over there." Max pointed to where the track led from the overlook platform with its benches and telescopes to the small houses with bathrooms and eating facilities and even further back, the parking lot. She felt her heart jump.

 _The parking lot! Chloe!_

Victoria brought up a hand to her mouth.

"Shit, my car!"

They both started to run towards the parking. Max glanced at Victoria.

"Your… car?" She huffed as they ran.

"Yeah, got a new car just this week." Victoria puffed in answer, then she made a pained grimace. "If anything should happen to it, I'm so fucking dead."

When they arrived at the parking lot, there were shattered glass all over the road. It looked like someone had been flinging bottles around, full or half-full by the smell of it; the air was oozing thick with the scents of liquor, wine and beer.

"Chloeee!" Max shouted from the tip of her toes.

"What is this?" Victoria said as she inspected the mess with an incredulous face. "It can't be… It can't fucking be…"

Max carefully navigated the glass covered tarmac towards where Chloe's beaten up truck stood parked.

"Chloe! Where are you?"

Max looked around. A movement on the pickup's back caught her eyes and set her heart racing.

"Is that you, Chloe?"

There was a pause, then a raspy voice answered.

"Go away, Max. I want to be alone. Have some privacy, you know?"

"Chloe, what the hell have you done?" Victoria shouted.

A confused Chloe looked up over the rim of the pickup back, holding a bottle of rum in a cramped fist. Her face was red and bruised, and if Max hadn't known her better she would've thought she had been crying. Chloe had lost her cap and her blue hair stood out in grimy tufts in all directions. She was very, very drunk.

"Icky?"

"Those are mine." Victoria shouted back with a very irritated voice, "You can't just–"

"Yeah, Fuuuck you too," Chloe said and took a deep swig from the bottle, then she threw it at them. Instinctively both Max and Victoria made a small jump backwards, but the throw fell short and the bottle splashed out its content a coupe of meters in front of them, spreading shards of glass in all directions. Chloe stared back them.

"Why are you here?" She slurred at Victoria. "Come to gloat? Makes you feel better about your own sorry life?"

"I've come to collect my stuff, but I'm sure as hell not paying for _this_."

Victoria gestured at the broken bottles on the ground.

"Yeah, yeah, to hell with you and your fucking party," Chloe mumbled. On very unsteady legs she rose up and balanced, swaying hither and dither. It looked like she could topple over any second.

"I _piss_ on your party, andon your money."

"Careful, Chloe," Max shouted at her. " I'm coming."

Then, feeling both a rising frustration and despair, she turned to Victoria.

"This is not helpful, Vee."

"Yeah, sorry, but who's going to pay for–"

" _I_ will fucking pay, Vee," Max hissed, " _Later_ , now I need you to help me, not make things worse."

Victoria gazed back at Max, like she couldn't believe her ears.

"Do you have any idea about how much money–.

"No, and I don't care." Max cut her off. "Salvage what you can and send me the bill for the rest."

"Hey," Victoria said, giving her a surly look, "Now you are making me feel bad about this."

"Just help me, okay?"

In the corner of her eye Max saw how Chloe fell off the back of the truck. She disappeared behind it with a loud thump.

"Chloe!" Max screamed and ran forward, zig-zagging between broken glass and pools of liquid. She found Chloe lying on her back in the ditch.

"I'm alright, I'm alright." Chloe groaned as she tried to rise, but she seemed to have forgotten how to do it. After some trying and failing, she reached out a wavering hand towards Max.

"Hey buddy, help me up will you?"

It felt like she weighed a hundred tons, but finally Max got her up on her feet.

"Come, Chloe, this way." Max said, but Chloe stubbornly stumbled away in the other direction, towards where the rest of the bottles and cans had been unloaded in a big heap on the ground. Chloe grabbed a bottle of wine from the pile, but she didn't manage to stop there, instead she passed and, with a bang, walked right into the back of the red Maserati parked beside.

"Ouch, where the hell did that come from." Chloe muttered and shook her head. Then she began screw the cork off of the wine bottle in deep concentration.

"Watch the car!" Victoria yelled from behind.

"What car?" Chloe shouted back, while leaning her back against it. After a taking a couple of sizeable gulps she looked around.

"Oh…"

After some more drinking her face suddenly lit up.

"This is _your_ car?"

"Yes, I mean no!" Victoria shouted back. Max could see how she was silently cursing herself.

Chloe nodded drunkenly.

"It's a nice car, very nice, but it needs some fixing."

She took another sip from her wine.

"Italian cars need constant fixing, I've heard."

Chloe looked up with a dangerous glint in her hazed blue eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm damn good at this stuff."

"Max, get her away from there!" Victoria cried. The handwringing in her voice was thick.

"No car survives first contact with 'Chloe the hoe'." Chloe muttered and grabbed the bottle by its neck and lifted it to strike. Red wine poured out all over her and spattered down on the car below.

"No, don't!" Victoria pleaded, almost going down on her knees. "Please!"

Chloe struck, her empty fist slammed down with a loud smack.

"Fuck!" She exclaimed as she started to shake her hand in pain. Behind her, Max threw the almost empty bottle away on the grass. Like a ninja, or so he thought, she had managed to sneak up behind the reeling Chloe and disarm her before she could bring the wine bottle down on the Maserati.

Chloe was staring at her own empty hand in wonder.

"Where did it go?" She slurred, "Did you see that, Max? Did you–"

Max took her hand in her's and patted Chloe on the shoulder with her other hand.

"Lets go home, Chloe."

Chloe looked up at her.

"No way, sis," She said and pointed at the huge stash of bottles and cans, which, in all honestly, was almost untouched. "I'm not done yet, by far."

"You can't drink any more or you'll kill yourself."

"So what? This's a free country, innit?"

"Don't be a fool, Chloe."

Max looked away towards Victoria, who seemed both pale and flushed at the same time. It looked like she just had had a near death experience.

"Vee, help me get her into the car."

"No way," Victoria protested.

"No way what?"

"No way I'm driving her home in my car! Sorry Max, but there goes the limit."

Max gave Victoria a dark look as she tried to drag Chloe away from the alcohol. Victoria shrugged.

"Sorry, I just can't, and it definitely wasn't part of the bargain."

"Okay, I get it, we'll take the truck instead." Max grumbled, "But please help."

Together they managed to prise a struggling and protesting Chloe through the passenger door. But as soon as they got her in, Chloe locked the doors and shifted over to the driver's seat.

"No, no, no, you can't!" Max shouted. She felt how panic started to rise.

Chloe gave her a triumphant smile from behind the steering wheel.

"Can too."

She took out the ignition key from her jeans pocket and wiggled it before Max, then she dropped it on the floor.

"Damn!"

Max hammered her fists on the side window.

"Open the door, Chloe, you cant't drive. This car's a death trap! It's suicide!"

"It's a fucking family tradition," Chloe grumbled as she searched for the key in the footwell.

"Or will be, soon."

She smiled a humourless smile as she held up the ignition key to Max again.

"No, Chloe, please don't do it!" Max screamed, she could feel how tears began to trickle down her cheeks. If she just had been able to turn back time she would've found a solution. But now it was too late. Why didn't that shit work in this timeline? She continued to bang on the window until her hands hurt; she couldn't come up with anything else to do.

"Chloe!"

"My life, my decision." Chloe said in a bleary but strangely calm voice as she tried to get the key into the keyhole. It proved to be a lot harder than it should.

"Keep still for fucks sake," She muttered to the ignition, but after repeated attempts and a lot of swearing, she threw the key away in frustration. It bounced around in the car. Max felt hope starting to grow in her heart.

"Don't you see?" Max snivelled, still looking in through the side window with teary eyes, clinging to the door handle as a shipwrecked to a piece of flotsam. "You are way too drunk to drive if you can't even get the start key in. Please open the door, Chloe. Please."

But Chloe did not, instead she started to fidget with something under the dashboard. Max tried to understand what she was doing, but she couldn't get a good look. Suddenly the big car coughed to life. Chloe revved the engine, releasing a big cloud of stinking exhaust, making Max's already red and tear-filled eyes sting even more. Chloe hooted and pumped a fist in the air.

"I'll never be too drunk to hot-wire this pice of junk!"

She leaned her forehead against the side window and looked into Max's eyes.

"Move away, Max, I don't want to run you over. I'm going, and I'm never coming back. One way or the other."

"No, Chloe, you can't!"

Max fell down on her knees, whimpering.

"You can't. There's so many things I want to tell you. That I need to tell you."

Chloe looked down on her, kneeling on the rough tarmac with shattered glass and spilled drink all around her. A small, shivering bundle in a world of chaos and destruction. Her eyes went very soft.

"I'm sorry, Max," She said through the window glass, "You are way better off without me. I've seen it. I'm just too fucked up for this world." Chloe quickly wiped her eyes. "See you in next."

Max crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself hard while tears streamed down her freckled cheeks.

 _Oh, Chloe,_ _this time_ _t_ _here will be no next world._

While the big car engine started to rumble, Max curled up, closed her eyes and cried.


	11. Chapter 10

Max couldn't make heads or tails of what happened next. There was a crash, a door opening and slamming shut, an engine revving, and then another crash, louder but father away, all within a couple of seconds. When Max opened her eyes the truck stood on the other side of the road, against a large boulder. The engine was still running, but the car stood still. Over the noise Max could hear shouts of anger and resentment.

"Get out of my fucking car!" Chloe slurred.

"No way," Victoria grumbled back, "You're not driving like that, you fucking, stupid, idiot of a moron."

"Get. Out." Chloe snarled. "Let go of me! What are you doing?"

"Max!" Victoria shouted, "Get your ass over here, pronto!"

Like in a dream, Max rose and began stumbling forward. She saw that Victoria had crushed the side window on the passenger side and had managed to get the door open, and now she sat struggling with Chloe in the driver's seat, doing everything she could to keep Chloe's hands off the steering wheel.

"Hurry the fuck up, Max!"

Max quickened her steps and hasted over to the car door at the drivers side. Somehow Victoria managed to unlock it with one hand while holding on to Chloe's both wrists with her other. Max saw trickles of blood running from both Victoria's nostrils.

"No!" Chloe shouted as she thrashed around, "Lemme go, Victoria, what the hell are you doing?"

"I won't let you go."

"Why–? What the fuck do you care?"

As Chloe was held in Victoria's iron grip, her struggles lost more and more of its violent energy.

"I don't care whether you live or die," Victoria growled, "But Max does, and I can't let you do this to her. And besides, do you know how dangerous it would be to let you loose on the roads? Not just to you, but to everyone?"

Chloe became silent and just glowered at her.

"Didn't think of that, huh?" Victoria scoffed, " Selfish egocentric bitch that you are. Fuck you, Chloe. You're so fucking pathetic."

Max finally got the door open, and together she and Victoria pushed Chloe from the driver's seat to be held firmly between them. Chloe had gone all limp and didn't resist any more.

"Chloe, oh Chloe…" Max began with tears in her eyes, but was cut short by Victoria.

"Shut up and drive, Max. The sooner we get this piece of shit away from here, the better."

Max glanced at Chloe, who looked more or less unconscious, her head tilted forward so he blue bangs covered her face, then she looked back at Victoria, who sat and inspected the blood from her nose on her fingertips.

"Fucking stupid bitch," Victoria muttered to herself.

"Do you think we need to go to the hospital?" Max asked her.

Victoria looked up.

"For this?" She said and held up a red finger, "You're not serious are you?"

"No, I meant for Chloe"

Chloe stirred.

"No, not hospital," She mumbled, "Home. I just want to sleep."

Max tried to catch Chloe's eyes, to get a hint of how she was, but she turned her head away.

"Are you sure?" Max asked.

"Look," Chloe said, with her head still turned away, "Mom has enough bills as it is, and I'm fine," She stretched out a hand, "See? No shakes."

Her hand trembled like a leaf in breeze.

Victoria scoffed from her corner and muttered.

"Yeah, we are clearly all super duper fine here."

Chloe seemed to be very drunk, but still at her senses, which was good. Max grabbed her outstretched hand and squeezed.

"Okay, Chloe, home it is then." She said with a sniffle, then she turned to Victoria, "I think we are good, Vee, you can get out now if you want. And thank you so much."

Victoria looked up from the bloodstained handkerchief she held against her nose.

"Whatever," She said, but it sounded more like 'badeber', " But if you think you can manage, I'd be more than happy to ditch you suckers right at this moment."

When Victoria had slammed the door close behind her, Max put the car in gear. She was not an experienced driver, and she had never driven a car like Chloe's old skeevy pickup truck before. Just when she though she had it all under control, she let her knee brush against the mess of cables hanging under the wheel, and the engine immediately died in a miserable wheezing cough. Max cursed and moved her hand over to the ignition to start the engine again, but the key was nowhere to be found. She got down on her hands and knees among the glass splinters and searched the floor and the seats but everything was full of holes and rips and tears, and it could be hiding absolutely anywhere. She saw the stone Victoria must have used to get through the side window lying under the seat, but the key was nowhere to be found. Max sat up again and peered down at the mass of tangled cables that welled out below and felt despair rising in her tummy. She had absolutely no fucking idea how to hot-wire a car.

She breathed out a long frustrated sigh and leaned her forehead down on the steering wheel. It was cold agains her brow, but in her skull it felt like molten lava swirled around. How many things were allowed to go wrong during the same day? There ought to be a rule about that, somehow.

"Red and brown," Chloe muttered drunkenly, "Look where the tape is, the cables just need to be reconnected again."

Max looked up at Chloe.

"You can do it, Max, it's not that hard."

When Max didn't act, Chloe continued, "I'll guide you. Start by getting the cables."

Max nodded and hesitantly reached down her hands.

"But watch out so you don't electrocute yourself," Chloe said.

"You are joking, right?" Max grumbled as she started to search among the cables.

"I mean it, Max. Be careful."

With nervous fingers Max found the cables with pieces of tape on their ends and put them together. There was a bright spark and the engine rumbled to life again.

"Great," Chloe said, "Now wind the tape around them so they stay connected, and keep the engine running with the pedal."

Max pressed down the accelerator, and the engine started to roar, then sputter.

"Easy, easy," Chloe mumbled, "Too much and you'll flood it. This old truck's a harsh mistress."

Max did her best to roll tape around the cables while not getting an electric shock and simultaneously giving the truck enough gas with her right foot, but not too much. It was more complicated that one might think.

"That's it," Chloe said when she finally got the hang of it, "Just separate the cables later when you want to turn it off."

Max sat up behind the steering wheel and huffed, feeling both winded and sweaty by the manoeuvre. But also a little bit proud; she had actually managed to do it. Chloe gave her a small smile.

"That was good work, Max. Welcome to the world of grand theft auto. Can you drive stick shift by the way?"

Max stared at the stick. She hadn't even reflected on that.

"I don't know," She said, "I've never done it before."

"Okay, then I'll shift for you. Just press down the clutch pedal when I say."

Max gave Chloe a blank stare.

"That's the extra pedal to the very left, Max. When you press it down, the engine disconnects from the drive train, so to speak. Can't change gear if it's not, that'll blow the transmission on this old bugger."

"Oh," Max said. She had absolutely no idea what Chloe was talking about, but she was sure of one thing; automatic transmission for the win.

"Trust me," Chloe slurred, "You'll do just fine."

Max gripped the steering wheel with both hands and breathed out slowly.

"Okay, hit me."

"Alright, Mad Max, here it comes," Chloe said with a smile, then she reached out a hand and shifted from neutral to first gear. Max released the clutch and with a loud screech, the car jumped into motion, leaving some of the truck's admittedly so-so paintwork on the boulder Chloe had sideswiped earlier. As soon as they got up to speed, Chloe changed to second gear, and they continued to scuttle along the narrow winding road. When they swerved out on the main road going back towards the coast, Max accelerated and the engine started to make funny noises. She glanced at Chloe to ask her to change gear again, but saw that she had fallen asleep; she slumped heavily against Max's shoulder and was snoring loudly. Max didn't dare to touch the stick or the clutch on her own, so she continued to drive slowly in second gear all the way back to Arcadia Bay. Luckily it was an easy ride, even if they had an impressive tail of cars behind them when they finally neared the town.

When Max parked the old pickup truck outside 44 Cedar Avenue, the warm, sunny fall weather had changed and now the chilly wind was full of small grains of snow whirling about over the windshield. She pulled the two taped cables apart and the engine came to a sudden stop.

"Hey," Max said gently while trying to shake the still snoring Chloe awake, "We're here. Let's go inside, shall we?"

Chloe grunted in response and, after some more encouragement from Max, slowly started to move, even if she looked more sleeping than awake. She almost fell out of the truck when Max tried to lead her out, but Max managed to catch her and walked by side to give her support. It felt like Chloe weighed a ton on Max, and her legs begun to buckle under the load. Slowly they walked over to the house. Max turned the knob and shoved open the door to the Price-Madsen household.

"Joyce?" She shouted, "Anyone? Come help me please!"

To her great relief Max heard the scrape of a chair moving somewhere in there, and a second later Joyce came running from the kitchen with a look of alarm on her face. It only deepened when she saw Chloe in the doorway, hanging over Max like a slack rag doll.

"Oh my god, what is it? Max? Chloe?"

Joyce lifted up Chloe's head by the chin and looked into her face, which looked pale and sweaty.

"What's the matter honey?"

"I'm… not… feeling… well." Chloe groaned.

"She's really drunk," Max winced, "And she's really heavy too."

Joyce moved towards Chloe's other side to help Max holding her up, but Chloe pushed her away. A second later Chloe bent over and threw up, splattering down the whole floor of the little hall. The stench of alcohol and gastric acid was overbearing.

"Uhh… uhh…" Chloe moaned and grimaced as she fought to regain breath. Long dribbles of vomit and saliva hung from her mouth and fell down on her t-shirt and the welcome mat under her boots.

"Oh dear, oh dear." Joyce muttered and clasped with both hands around Chloe's arm to keep her from toppling over, "Let's get her to bed, Max."

When Chloe shakily stood up again, Max saw that there were puke in large wet splotches all over her t-shirt and jeans, and vomit glistered on her cheek and chin and dripped from her nose. Her eyes were full of tears. Max shot a glance at Joyce.

"Maybe the bathroom first?"

Joyce nodded and put her face close to Chloe's head.

"Darling," She said in Chloe's ear, "We're getting you to the shower, to clean you up a bit, then you can go to bed."

Chloe just groaned a low "Uhh…" again.

Slowly and laboriously they started to move up the stairs, when Chloe suddenly stopped and gripped the handrail hard and began to retch. It was immediately followed by another bucket load of vomit. It sloshed down the stair steps and over their shoes.

With a frown, Joyce looked over Chloe's bent back to Max.

"Oh my, how much did she have?"

"I don't know," Max answered, "I think a lot."

Joyce shook her head and pursed her lips.

"Wasn't this supposed to be an alcohol-free gathering?"

"Yes," Max sighed, "Supposedly."

Finally they managed to get Chloe up the stair and into the bathroom. With some effort, they sat her down on the lid of the toilet.

"Get the shower up and running, Max," Joyce said and started to remove Chloe's boots, socks and jeans, "Cold rather than hot, while I get her out of these dirty clothes."

"I don't want to shower," Chloe mumbled while she struggled to sneeze out bits of half digested food from her nostrils.

"Sorry, honey, mom has the last word this time." Joyce said as she tugged the t-shirt over Chloe's head. "Now get out of your underwear and we'll help you to the bath."

With shaking hands Chloe removed her bra and panties. Max couldn't help but notice the word BADASS written over the panty-bum where it lay in a heap beside the toilet.

 _Oh, Chloe,_ She though, _You're not so badass now._

Together Joyce and Max carefully led the naked and unsteady Chloe over the bathroom floor and helped her down into the bathtub.

"Thank you, Max," Joyce said while she reached for the shower handle on its holder, "You may go and prepare the bed, we'll be with you in a minute."

Max went the short walk from the bathroom to Chloe's room, which was as unordered and chaotic as usual. She dropped down the blinds over the windows and cleared the bed from some dirty clothes, an ashtray with a couple of cigarette butts, and two dirty plates with half eaten food.

The bed itself was a mess of course and really in need of some fresh bed linen. Max found some clean sheets in the wardrobe and used them to change it up. When she was done she sat down on the chair by the desk with a huff and waited, but she didn't have to wait long.

Draped in only a towel, Chloe came stumbling through the door, shuddering with cold. Behind her were Joyce. She steered Chloe to the bed and had her keel over into it; it was more of a controlled collision than an actual lie down. Together, Max and Joyce pulled the blanket over Chloe's pale, curled up figure, then Joyce kneeled down beside the bed and pushed away some damp blue locks from Chloe's face and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Darling daughter," She whispered, "Rest now and everything will be better when you wake up. I promise."

Joyce looked tired beyond her years when she rose.

"Aright, I'll go clean up that mess now–"

"I'll help you," Max said.

"No, Max, stay with Chloe. I think she needs you more than I do right now. And thank you so much for bringing her home. I don't dare to think about what could've happened if you hadn't."

Joyce stopped in the door.

"I'm putting on a machine, by the way. Borrow some clothes from Chloe if you need something washed, I'm sure she won't mind. Just chuck your laundry down the stairs when you're done and I'll take it from there."

Max's pants definitely smelled of vomit, and her hoodie was not much better. And her shoes, and socks… ugh. After some rummaging around in the wardrobe and dresser, she changed into a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that was way too long and chunky on her skinny legs, but it was the best she could find among Chloe's clothings.

Max was just about to open the door to leave her stinky clothes to Joyce and her washing machine, when it barged open and David entered. He was fuming.

"Whats going on here?" He barked and walked up to Chloe's bed without giving Max a second glance.

"Mr Madsen," Max said, "Chloe's not well."

He turned to her.

"Not well, you say?" He scoffed, "She's drunk as a damned sailor! Don't tell me it's not so."

Max swallowed and only nodded in response.

"And her truck! What happened? I mean, it wasn't a beauty to begin with, but now it's totally wrecked. Did she drive under influence? Thats a criminal offence, for god's sake."

"No, I was driving." Max mumbled.

"Really? I find that hard to believe, Max. And the missing side window, is that also you? And… and the tires! Whats the meaning of spending that much money on almost brand new tires if she," He gave her a sceptical look, "Or you, drive over a bed of broken glass. Did you see the tires?" He gestured violently in the air, "Full of splinters. They're completely ruined!"

He took a deep breath to calm himself, but it didn't seem to help that much.

"Tell me, Max," David continued, "What the hell happened?"

"She have had a really rough day today."

"No shit! But things were supposed to get better, Max, not worse! You said so yourself!"

"I know, I know, " Max said, feeling how the lump in her throat grew larger and larger." I'm sorry, I messed up."

" _You_ messed up? That's bullshit, and you know it. This is Chloe's doing from start to finish, I know her. And don't try to protect her, Max. It's amicable, but it won't help her in the long run. Not at all."

He looked at the sleeping Chloe and scoffed, then he walked towards the door.

"I know she doesn't think shit of me, you know, but I actually do care for her."

He sighed.

"And Joyce. Losing Chloe would be the end of her, Max, do you understand? I just can't let that happen."

"I understand," Max mumbled.

"Chloe needs to face up to her problems, Max, and… and.. fucking _fix_ them, do you understand? Else this will end badly, for all of us."

"I know," Max whispered, but by then David had already left the room and closed the door with a bang behind him.

Max didn't want to think about how close it had been that it had ended badly today. If it hadn't been for Victoria. And no thanks to her, not even a tiny bit. What had she done? She had given up. What frightened her the most was how easy it had been; to just let go, despite her promises and wows to herself to keep Chloe out of trouble. Was this really how weak she was? This worthless?

Max collapsed into the chair by the desk and put her head in her hands, and wept. She did her best to swallow her sobs to not wake Chloe up.

Chloe stirred in the bed.

"Don't cry, Max." She mumbled, "I know I'm a fuckup, but you don't have to cry for me. I've had worse days than this. David is the least of my problems, believe me. But thanks for standing up for me."

"Hey, you're awake," Max snivelled and dried her tears with shaking hands, then she walked over to Chloe and sat down at the bed. Chloe was still pale but looked much better now when she had puked up most of what she had drunk earlier.

"How are you feeling?" Max asked and placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder. Chloe was still shuddering.

"The room's spinning like a turbocharger," Chloe stuttered, " but I don't feel as much like shit as before."

"Still cold?"

"Uh-huh."

"I can't do much about the spinning," Max said, "But maybe I can give you some warmth."

She snuggled down close behind Chloe under the blanket.

"Okay?" She whispered.

"Mmm," Chloe mumbled and burrowed her head down in the soft pillow, while pressing her rump and back to Max, maximising the heat conduction, "This is good."

They lay silent. Max listened to Chloe's breath slowly slow down. It was very calming and after a while she started to doze off herself when Chloe suddenly spoke.

"Mom's wrong, you know." She mumbled, "It will not be better when I wake up. I'll be just the same pathetic piece of shit as before."

"You shouldn't listen to Victoria." Max mumbled back, not really wanting to wake up from the warm cozy slumber she was in, "She says thing she doesn't mean all the time."

"But she's right, for once. She's probably wondering why you are putting up with me. I bet they all do."

Chloe sighed.

"I do too, you know."

Now Max was wide awake, and also feeling little bit angry.

"I don't care what they think." She said hotly, "I know you aren't worthless, or a piece of shit. Far from it, actually."

Chloe turned around I the bed and faced her, a crooked smile on her otherwise sad face.

"Oh, actually?" She snarked, "How far from a piece of shit am I then?"

She held up a hand with an inch between her thumb and index finger. "This far?"

She increased the distance to about two inches, "Or maybe this far?"

On impulse, Max pulled Chloe close.

"Hey!" Chloe blurted in surprise.

"This far," Max whispered and, with a beating heart, she put her lips to Chloe's. They were soft and wonderful, and Max could taste that she had brushed her teeth before coming to bed. Chloe's eyes widened, but she didn't shy away from the kiss.

When they pulled apart, Chloe's smiling mouth had transformed into a round o.

"What the hell was that for?" She whispered in wonder.

Now it was Max turn for a crooked smile.

"For being such an intelligent person, Chloe, you are not very smart."

"Uh, what?" Chloe gave her a puzzled look.

"Remember when we talked yesterday?" Max continued, "That there was a special someone? For me?"

"Of course I remember," Chloe answered, "I even asked Rachel about it. She said she knew, but she didn't want to tell me, the stingy bitch. It 'wasn't her place' she said."

Chloe shook her head with a grumpy face.

Max laughed and shook her head too. Of course Rachel had known. She grabbed Chloe's cheeks between her palms and looked into her eyes.

"It's because it's you, silly."

"Me?"

"Don't you get it? You're my special one, Chloe."

Chloe just stared back at her, and her baffled look made Max squirm inside. What had started as a really good feeling now felt totally like the wrong one. But there was no turning back now, however awkward the situation had become. Max took a deep breath before continuing.

"I…I love you, Chloe," She whispered, suddenly shy when saying out loud what she had been feeling in the depth of her heart all days and every day for the last couple of weeks. She lifted her hand to let her fingertips brush against Chloe's chafed chin, tracing her smooth jawline up to her ear.

"I love you, and you deserve every tiny last bit of it."

Finally, Chloe seemed to understand. Her face went form pale to red in and instant. To Max relief it also went from sad to smiling.

"That's… uh, that's…" Chloe mumbled, "Max, that's hella… "

Chloe's grin stretched from ear to ear, her cheeks had become flushed and hot.

"I don't know what to say…"

"Then say nothing," Max whispered and scooted even closer, pressing their bodies together, her clothed and Chloe's naked, and placing her hand behind Chloe's neck, pulling her near.

"Kiss me instead."

Their mouths met once more, and this time Chloe responded with a drunken passion that took Max completely by surprise, and by storm. She didn't want the kiss to end, ever, but they would have suffocated if Max wish had come true, so sadly it had to.

Chloe had rolled up halfway on top of Max, and now they lay looking at each other, as if seeing the other one for the first time for real.

"I'm not dreaming, am I?" Chloe whispered, gazing down on Max, wide eyed and out of breath, "Not some kind of delirious bum trip I'm in right now, right? Please say I'm not."

"No, Chloe, this is as real as it gets," Max answered, also breathless after the kissing, and maybe also a little from the weight of Chloe on her chest, "Do it to me again."

Chloe drew closer with eyes looking large, deep and moist as woodland lakes.

"Hell yeah," she whispered.

The rollercoaster events of the day had left Max exhausted, and she fell asleep in Chloe's arms that Sunday afternoon, and they didn't wake up until early Monday morning. It was still hours before sunrise when Max and Chloe, fully dressed, came down the stairs and into the kitchen, and found Joyce there, sitting at the bench with a cup of coffee, leafing through a stack of coupons sheets.

"Hello girls," She said, giving them both a look-over, "You're up early today."

Joyce herself looked tired, but seems pleased to see them both up together.

"Yup," Chloe said, "Eighteen hours of sleep is about enough for me, growing teenager and all."

Joyce smiled, then the little worry-crease in between her eyebrows deepened.

"How are you feeling, honey?"

"Actually, I'm feeling pretty great," Chloe said and strolled over to the counter.

"Thirsty, but great."

She lifted the empty but still warm coffee pot and turned to her mom.

"What, no coffee?"

"Sorry," Joyce answered, "I didn't know you two were up, and I'm off to work in a minute so I don't have time to make you breakfast, but maybe you can manage?"

"Of course," Max said.

"Yeah, no problemo," Chloe said and opened the refrigerator door and peered inside. She reached in and took out a big jug of milk, unscrewed the cap and started to gulp it down.

"Thank you for washing my clothes, and my sneakers," Max said to Joyce and sat down, "I… I forgot to throw them down the stairs yesterday."

"No worries, Max, I think you needed that sleep, both of you."

Joyce reached for her hand and held it, then she leaned forward and spoke in a low voice, "I want you to know that I'm really happy to have you back with Chloe again, Max."

She looked her meaningfully in the eyes.

"I really am. You understand?"

Max felt her cheeks heat up, and immediately looked down, but she managed to get out a meek "Thank you, me too."

"Hey, Max," Chloe said, still rummaging through the refrigerator," There isn't much to choose from here, so how 'bout eggs, or… eggs?"

"Eggs are fine," Max said, then she turned to Joyce again, "Or maybe we can go with you to the diner and have breakfast there?"

Max was hungry as a wolf, she hadn't eaten much at the picnic yesterday and nothing since, which, as Chloe had said, was nearly eighteen hours ago. To satisfy her ravenous tummy, just eggs wouldn't really cut it.

"Hey, Max," Chloe said again, straightening up and closing the fridge with a loud smack, "That's a really good idea."

"I have money," Max said to Joyce, but she just shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, but you better get your coats on, the bus leaves in five."

The sky was still a star strewn black when Max, Chloe and Joyce arrived down at the Two Whales Diner. A relentless damp wind blew that chilled them to the bone, and they could hear the crashing of waves from the yonder dark sea. Huddling in their outerwear they hasted the short way from the bus stop to the diner and got in through the backdoor of the square building. Well inside, Joyce got the lights on and pulled down the big breaker to the kitchen. The large ventilation fan started up with a low droning hum, and the two lamps on the scuffed industrial stove began blinking, indicating that it was ready for business.

"Okay, girls," Joyce said, "When you are here, maybe you can help med get things going? There's coffee that needs to get brewed, lamps needs to get turned on, and if you can take a peek at the tables and floors and se if everything looks alright?"

When Joyce came back from the staff area, changed into in her navy blue diner uniform with its white apron, everything was lit and the two pots were percolating, spreading the scent of fresh brew over the diner's rows of tables and seats. Now they just had to wait for the first guests to arrive.

Max and Chloe sat down at the usual corner table with a cup of hot coffee and a soda each.

"Coffee and soda, the base of every nutritious meal," Chloe mused and took a slurp from each, mixing them in her mouth.

"Eww," Max said.

"Definitely," Chloe said with a grimace, "But the only way to be sure it's healthy is if it tastes like shit, amirite?"

Joyce walked up to their table.

"Okay, ladies, what will you have?"

Max and Chloe had been busy sipping their drinks and staring into each others eyes, so they hadn't even thought of what to eat, but now Max felt her body scream for fat, sugar and red meat. She let her eyes go down the menu and wanted every single item on the list. There were so much to choose from. Too much.

"Can you make us a special, mom?" Chloe said, "Like you did when we were kids, only bigger, as we are, you know, bigger now?"

Joyce gave Max a look with raised eyebrows.

"Yes please!" Max said and gave a thumbs up. The special... She hadn't had that in a long, long time, but it was the perfect choice. It wasn't a real dish per se, just a big plate with a little bit of everything, and Chloe and Max usually ate from it together, sometimes fighting over who would get the last fries or bit of sausage or pancake, but that was part of the fun, as she remembered it at least. Max suspected that the special had been made of some kind of leftovers, well, probably not directly from customers plates, but still. Max didn't really mind, and today there were no leftovers as they were the first to eat this morning. Maybe it would be made from yesterday's leftovers?

Joyce pursed her lips, then she nodded.

"Right, one special Price coming up," She said with a smile and left for the kitchen. At this hour she was the sole staff here, but the rest would arrive to the diner in about an hour, when there would be a lot more customers coming in for breakfast.

Max had finished her coffee and was halfway through her grape soda when she drew a deep breath and looked at Chloe. Their food hadn't arrived yet, she could hear how Joyce was still busy in the kitchen preparing it for them. But she couldn't pussyfoot around this any longer.

"Chloe," Max said, "We've got to talk about Rachel."

It wasn't strictly true. It was Chloe she felt she needed to talk about, and, yeah, her relationship with Rachel. If Max could've, she happily would've left Rachel completely out of the picture.

The little smile on Chloe's face waned and she scrunched her brow.

"Yeah? What about her?"

Max reached out a hand and grabbed Chloe's in her's. Chloe didn't grab back.

"Well," Max said, feeling even more hesitant than before, "Weren't you an item, or something like that?"

"Officially?" Chloe said.

Max shrugged.

"No, never," Chloe continued, "But unofficially, that's what I like to think we were."

"Why?"

"Why what?" Chloe said, looking a bit annoyed.

"I mean, why were you never officially together?"

"Oh."

Chloe looked out the dark window.

"You don't know Rachel like I do, Max, but she has this, like, pretty serious idiosyncrasy."

"This… what?" Max said.

"A peculiarity?" Chloe said and shrugged, still looking out in the black night, "Ah, damn it, let's call it an issue, then. Rach has this kind of a huge issue, is a more honest way to put it I guess."

Chloe felt silent, but continued to stare out the window for what felt like a long time. Max was sure that was it, that Chloe wouldn't say anything more about this, when she continued.

"Rach can never really commit to anything, you know? Not fully. Except maybe to herself. And that's a pretty shaky maybe."

Chloe sighed and looked back at her.

"It's not like she does it on purpose, Max, that's just who she is. Rachel is like a… a… butterfly, moving from flower to flower, so to speak. Can't stay on one project or person for too long before it bores her."

"So, you are saying she gets bored easily?"

Max heard how doubtful she had sounded, and winced, but Chloe just laughed.

"Ah, well, that was a bad choice of words. It's more like Rachel has this, like, inner demon driving her on, striving for constant change, for new experiences, if that makes sense? I can tell you it doesn't make her happy, but she can't control it. She's got a real artist's soul in that way."

Max nodded slowly.

"Yeah, okay, I think I understand."

"But I was always there for her, though," Chloe continued, "More or less in the background, sure, but she was always there for me too when I needed it. We were, I mean _are_ , damn close, Max. You'll have to accept that, warts and all."

Max nodded again. She hadn't expected anything else, and she was willing to accept it, no problem. Warts and all.

"Of course," Max said, "But do you think she will be able to, um, accept us?"

"Why not?" Chloe said, "I mean, she already knew, didn't she?"

"Yes, but do you think that was why she got so mad yesterday?"

Chloe thought for a moment, then she shook her head.

"To a certain extent, maybe, but we've always gotten into fights now and then, me and Rachel, and she always comes around. After I've apologised first, of course, but I don't see why this time will be any different."

Max nodded once more. And now to one of the questions she dreaded the most. Max tried to make her voice as light and unconcerned as possible.

"And what about following her to, uh, L.A.?"

"Well," Chloe said with a smile, "I think there has been some change of plans when it comes to _that_."

She glanced around to check that they were alone before leaning over the table and placing a quick kiss directly on Max's mouth. Max couldn't help but to grin widely in return, her cheeks flaming. While Chloe leaned back, looking almost smug, Max brought up her fingers to her mouth, feeling the hot remnants from the kiss still burning on her lips. Then her mood sank again.

"What do you think Rachel will say when you won't?" She mumbled.

Chloe sank back in her seat and stared at the ceiling for a second, then she looked back down at Max with lopsided smile.

"I think," She said,"That Rach did have five years to get her thumb out, so _I'd_ say that ship has sailed, whatever she says. Her loss, right?"

 _Yes, and my win,_ Max thought, though she couldn't help but to feel a tiny bit bad for Rachel. But not really. Rachel could've left for greener pastures with Chloe whenever it suited her, but she hadn't.

Max could smell the food long before she even heard Joyce come up to them, carrying a large plate in her hand.

"Enjoying yourselves this fine morning, girls?" She said with a smile and put down the steaming plate on the table between them. On it presided a large pile of food; eggs, bacon, sausages, fries, fried fish, waffles, even two scoops of ice cream on a pancake in a corner, ladled with chocolate sauce and roasted nuts sprinkled on top. This was definitely no leftover stuff.

"Wow," Max breathed as she let her eyes ogle it.

"This is fu-freaking _perfect_ , mom," Chloe said and clapped her hands in joy. With a sweeping gesture she grabbed the Ketchup bottle, then she looked over at Max.

"Over everything?"

As much ketchup as they could get away with, that's how they used to do it back in the day. Nowadays, Max wasn't as unabashedly a fan of the iconic red tomato sauce.

""Um, maybe not, if that's okay?"

Chloe grinned at her and put down the bottle again.

"Sure, things change, I get it."

Max smiled back at Chloe.

 _Things change indeed._

While they sat munching happily together, more and more guests entered the diner. Jen and Rico also came by to say hi to them before disappearing to the back to change into their respective waitress and chef-outfits.

When they had eaten everything on the plate, Max moved over to Chloe's side and sat snuggled up beside her, leaning her head against Chloe's shoulder. From where they sat, they had a complete view of the diner and it's guests, and it was nice to sit here doing nothing but just exist, together. They got some curious looks from some of the other patrons, but Max didn't care. She rather hoped this was to be the new normal.

After some time, Chloe began to stirr.

"Sorry, but I can't postpone this any longer, I, um, need to go to the restroom." She said and squeezed Max shoulder, "I'll be back in a heartbeat."

Just when she stood up, Joyce came by with a takeaway box in her hands.

"Chloe, I was wondering if you could go out and see if Marie is around? She usually comes a'knocking at this hour for a bit of breakfast, but she hasn't yet."

"Do I have to? I was just on my way to the John."

Joyce gave her a worried look.

"Are you feeling all right, honey?"

"Yes mom," Chloe sighed, "A girl should be able to take a dump in peace and quiet without being questioned, it's kinda rude, you know."

"Chloe–" Joyce began, but then she shrugged and began to walk away towards the exit.

"Wait," Max said, "I can go."

"Can you do that?" Joyce said, and turned, "It's very kind of you, Max."

She handed her the flat square paper box.

"Do you know Marie?" She asked.

Max believed she did.

"She's the lady who use to stay here behind the diner?"

"Right you are. If you could check on her and see if she's alright and give her the food, then I would be most thankful," Joyce said, then she had to haste away towards the other guests, as they seemed to be out of coffee and really grumpy about it too.

Max took the box of food and went outside. The eastern horizon had began to lit up, chasing away the stars from the sky, but the wind coming in from the sea was still chilly. Max wondered if this had been such a good idea after all. The last time they had met, the lady had seemed to be totally out of her mind. But maybe she knew something important? If she could get a word with her it would be great, if only to rule out the possibility that she didn't know anything of importance. If Max was careful maybe she could get her to speak. She shuddered as she turned the corner to the back of the building, and not only from cold.

The homeless lady, or Marie as was her name, was nowhere to be found. Max walked over to where she had seen her sit before, but found only some blankets and a stack of newspaper fluttering in the wind, which had picked up considerably. The black night here behind the diner was even more compact than she would have imagined possible, and a chill ran up and down Max's spine. She looked up but saw no stars from here, and no rosy light of dawn over the ragged forest edge above the town. It was very strange how everything could have turned so dark all of a sudden.

"Hello?" Max spoke out in the night with an uncertain voice, gripping the takeaway carton hard with clammy hands, "Uh, Marie, are you there?"

There was no answer, but in the corner of her eye Max noticed something moving. A big black shape ran past her, just outside reach. It left a musky scent lingering in her nostrils. A deer? It was a deer. Max could still see its white rear and tail clearly in the darkness as it ran away from her. With pounding heart, Max took up the pursuit.

"Wait!" She shouted without thinking, but the deer just ran on through the night, and Max followed, even if it felt like her lungs were about to burst. She forced herself to keep running, but ultimately, the deer was too fast. It disappeared and left Max standing there, leaning over and catching her breath, while her pulse pounded in her temples. Why the hell had she run after the deer in the first place? And where were she now? She had no answers for any of those questions.

When Max straightened up and looked around she saw only darkness in all directions. This couldn't be Arcadia Bay, or at least not the Arcadia Bay she knew. She fumbled out her phone and tried to light her way with the dim glow from its small square screen. It didn't help much as it wasn't one of those fancy phones like Victoria had, with a large touchscreen and built in flashlight and everything. Also, she had no service here, which was peculiar. With rising panic Max understood that she was utterly and completely lost. This had to be another of those strange dreams she had had lately, though she had no memory of neither going to bed nor falling asleep. Max was certain of one thing, though, this was beginning to freak her the fuck out.

"Chloe!?" She shouted into the nothingness, sobs creeping up the back of her throat, "Joyce!? Help! I'm lo–"

She stopped shouting abruptly, panting. God knew what was lurking around in the dark here. Better not call attention to her if she could avoid it. Even though she felt all alone in this strange landscape, Max was pretty certain that she wasn't.

The best approach when you are lost is to just stay where you are, and sooner or later your mom and dad, or someone else. would come looking for you; that was something Max had ben told since she was a toddler. 'Just stay and hug a tree', to use her dad's words. But here there were no trees, and Max figured those rules didn't really apply here anyway. Who would come after her in this place? Max had no idea how she had gotten here, and even less of an idea of how to get back. So, the best strategy had to be to go to where it had all started. Max tried to orient herself so she could backtrack to the diner or wherever she had started this run from, and began to walk in the pitch black darkness, hopefully in the right direction.

A whiff of smoke found its way to Max's nose in the chilly wind. Max felt how her heart jumped in her chest. Could it be from the diner's kitchen? But no, this was more of the acrid smell of a bonfire than from frying hamburgers. So, if the Two Whales wasn't about to go up in flames, which she sincerely hoped it was not, this was something else completely. After a short hesitation, Max veered off her chosen path and started to follow the smell of smoke. Shortly thereafter she caught a glimpse of light shining between high-stemmed tree trunks. Finally she had found some trees to hug at least. Strangely enough, the sight of trees gave Max some kind of comfort, they were something she recognised and knew how to relate to in this otherwise weird and dark desolated place. When Max got closer she saw what looked like a small campfire in the middle of a glade. It burned briskly with an inviting crackle, and Max felt drawn to the light as a moth to a flame. A shadowy figure sat on its knees to the side, working with something large and dark laying on the ground. Max stepped out in the clearing, and slowly began to walk towards the fire, and the person.

The big dark shape on the ground was the deer, laying on its side and clearly dead. A half naked woman, her hair in a thick braid down her back, crouched by it. She was gutting the large animal in swift movements with a blade that glinted red in the firelight, letting its glistering palish entrails spill out on the ground before her. When Max stopped, the woman looked up and gave her a smile. It was Marie, the homeless woman. But also, it wasn't.

"Ah, it was you who brought the food. I thank you for that," She said.

"The food?" Max said and looked down at her two empty hands. "I'm sorry, I had it right here, but I must've lost it on the way somehow."

"You didn't lose it, you drove it right to me."

Marie smacked the carcass with a hand smeared in blood, leaving a red mark on it's light-brown fur.

"This will keep me fed for a long time."

"Oh," Max said, not sure how she felt about seeing the beautiful animal all bloody and cut up like that. Somehow she had felt a strong connection to the deer, and now it was dead; slaughtered and being prepared to be eaten. She didn't like it, but at the same time, it felt natural, like, thats how it was supposed to be.

Max watched Marie cut up the deer in pieces and hang it in strings over the fire. Even if she was fast and effective, it took a while. Then Marie went out in the dark, and when she returned she as all cleaned up, with drips of water still clinging to her face and bare chest. To Max it looked very cold, but Marie didn't seem to be affected at all.

"Sit down, girl," She said and signed to Max to seat herself at the fire. Max did so, albeit a bit nervously.

Marie drew her knife and carved off a couple of slices from the meat that had been cooking over the fire and handed over a piece to Max. It was hot in her hand.

"So," Marie said, " What are you doing here, World-walker?"

Max stared back at her. She had been called 'World-walker' before, but she couldn't remember when, or where, and she hadn't the slightest idea what it meant. There were so much Max didn't know.

When the silence dragged on, Marie calmly took a bite of her meat and started chewing. It was obvious she wasn't in a hurry.

"I…" Max began, "I think I have some questions."

"Some questions?"

Max nodded, and Marie spitted a sinewy chunk of chewed venison into the fire.

"So what makes you think I will answer your questions?"

"Are you telling me you're not going to answer my questions?"

"Well, this is a different place, World-walker, with different rules. Here every action has to have a counteraction, every favour a given favour in return."

Marie winked at her in the flickering light of the fire.

"If you catch my drift."

Max did.

"I need to find a way to pay you first, either by a favour or something else, like a thing?"

"Uh-huh."

"Is there something I have that you want?"

Marie looked her over.

"I doubt it."

"Anything you want me to do?"

"What _can_ you do?"

Max didn't know, so after a long thinking pause, she shrugged and said so. Marie sighed.

"I'm sorry, if you can't come up with anything to barter with, then I'm afraid there isn't much I can do to help you."

There had to be something Max could offer her, but what? She ransacked her mind but even so, she came up blank. She couldn't give up, this felt just too important, so Max scrunched her face in effort, but no ideas came up anyway.

"I'm sorry, " Max said and sighed. She had reached the end of her capabilities it seemed. Admittedly not a very long list. Then something popped up in her mind.

 _Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way around?_

Max cleared her throat, before she spoke.

"But how about you repay me?"

The question took Marie totally by surprise. That was clear, both from her face and her voice, when she answered, "What? For what?"

Max gestured at the chunks of venison that hung sizzling over the flames.

"The meat that will keep you fed for a long time, I believe you said?"

Marie stared at her, then she laughed and gave a small nod.

"Well well," She said, "That's fair. You're sharper than I thought, World-walker. Always refreshing to be pleasantly surprised."

She continued to laugh and nod to herself for a while until she finally looked back at Max.

"So, how many questions do you think the food is worth?"

Max had no idea, so she just grabbed a number out of thin air.

"Five?"

Marie pursed her lips.

"I was thinking more like three, being the classic magic question - number and all, but okay, five is alright as you are a newcomer here."

Marie moved over so she sat facing Max, then she made some intricate gestures with her hands before continuing.

"Ask away then, but be warned; I can only answer things I know the answer to."

Max wasn't so worried about that, Marie must know a hell of a lot more than Max did anyway.

"Okay, first question,"Max said, "We start easy; Who are you?"

"Whoa," Marie said and help up her hands, "That's not an easy question. Do you know who you are?"

"I believe you're not supposed to answer with a question," Max answered with a lopsided smile.

Marie smiled back.

"You're right, sorry, it's a bad habit of mine, but my question has some merit after all."

"Do your best, then."

"Okay, let's say I'm someone who has lived here in the bay for a very long time."

"A human?"

"I didn't say that. But what I am would mean nothing to you I think. You could say I _am_ the bay, if that makes any sense? But let me tell you this; during my time here, I have seen very few World-walkers passing by, and every single time there have been some major shit-storms blowing up. I used to rule here, you know, before I lost it all. Now I just want to live my life in peace and quiet."

Marie had been right, Max didn't understand one bit, and nothing made any sense at all. She let the first question go.

"Okay, second question then; why do you call me World-walker?"

"That's easy; because you are one."

"And what is a World-walker?"

"That is really a whole other question, dear."

"Oh, come on," Max said.

"Okay, okay, given the simple answer to the real question, I'll give you a pass on this one. A World-walker is someone, a human, that can pass through the involucres of the domains unhindered. There are very few of you, to tell the truth, maybe one every one hundred years or so. Usually World-walkers are very powerful, at least those who know what they're doing, but that seems like long forgotten knowledge. And," Marie said with a shrug, "You are blinded too, of course, which makes you even more impotent."

"I'm… blinded?"

"Ah, you didn't know. Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it."

"What do you mean I'm blinded?"

"Sorry, but that _has_ to count as a separate question."

"Alright then, it counts."

Marie nodded.

"Well, someone powerful, could be you yourself or someone else around here, don't want you to be able to navigate the domains, so they removed your eyes. Simple as that."

 _Simple as… what the fuck?_

Instinctively Max put her hands up to her face. She jerked back in horror when she felt deep gouges where her eyes should have been and screamed right out.

"Hey, keep it down, will you?" Marie hushed and gave her a worried look, "You're not exactly anonymous here."

Max stared at her hands, which were trembling violently.

"How–, how come I can still see?"

"But, can you really?" Marie answered with pity in her voice, "Can you see the forest over there, for example? Or the sea? Or the burning mountain? Can you see the way back home?"

Max followed where her hands pointed, but saw only the blackness surrounding them.

"It's your other powers that, though diminished, makes you able to see just a little." Marie continued, "Or rather, sense."

"You mean it isn't dark here?" Max said, "I though–"

"No, no, no, though it's early morning, it's not dark here at all."

"Oh, damn," Max whispered with a sniffle. She was still shaking all over.

"Don't be sad," Marie said, reaching out a hand and squeezing Max's shoulder, "Most humans don't even have spirit eyes, and maybe you can get your's back?"

"How?"

"That, I don't know," Marie said with a shrug, "It depends on where they are."

"I just want to go home," Max snivelled.

Back home to where she had a pair of eyes, and could see properly. To where Chloe was.

"We'll come to that," Marie said, "But first you have two questions left–"

Marie went still. If she had had large pointy ears, they would definitely have perked up.

"Trouble's inbound," She whispered, "You shouldn't have been so noisy."

"What is it?" Max whispered back, an edge of panic slicing through her voice.

"Dawn wolves," Marie muttered," There is no point in running, you have to stand and fight."

Max could hear them now, still out in the shadows; light paws trampling, quick breaths, and low growls. She could sense how they were drawing nearer, hungry for blood. This was madness, she didn't even know how to fight off a puppy hungry for affection. She was soo fucking dead.

"How many?" Max whispered as she fought against the paralysing fear that spread through her limbs and body.

"Two," Marie said, "But I can't help you. I'm not supposed to take sides."

 _Splendid._

"Take sides?" Max said as she began to hyperventilate, "What sides?"

"Concentrate on the now," Marie said with a low voice that was unbelievably calm," There is a knife right here on the ground, should you need a weapon."

Marie unsheathed her knife and dropped it casually at her feet, then she took a couple of steps back. Something in Marie's slow movements and serene voice calmed Max. If she were to die, then she would, but she would not give up without a fight. Max walked up to the knife lying on the ground, glinting a dark red from the flames. She picked it up with a sweaty palm. It was a smooth, unadorned stone dagger, like something from a museum, but its edges looked wickedly sharp.

"Behind you," Marie mumbled as she stepped even farter back, away from the fire.

Max turned around, but too late, a shaggy beast twice her size lunged at her from the shadows, its maw searched for her throat. The pounce was brutal and Max fell hard on her back by its weight and force, leaving her gasping for air. The wolf's foul breath was all over her face, the stench was so powerful she could barely breathe. With a rising growl, it opened its huge sharp-fanged jaw to bite around her neck. The next moment, the other wolf was there too, yipping and grabbing with its teeth at her shoulder, trying to wrench her arm away, and clawing at her face wit a big hairy paw. She flailed out violently with the dagger and hit something soft. Blood splattered over her face, but she wasn't sure if it was hers or the wolf's, but at least the wolf gave out a high yelp and let go of her. Max felt how the wolf on top of her closed its jaws around her throat, but miraculously she managed to push her left arm in the way, and with a strength she didn't know she possessed, she forced the giant wolf's head away from her neck. Max could feel sharp teeth ripped her flesh and how the bone in her arm crackled and snapped, but she pressed on while she, with a furious anger and desperation, stabbed the large animal with the stone dagger, repeatedly sinking the sharp shard deep in its throat. Blood started to gush down over her where she lay pinned under the big wolf, drenching her in the hot, sticky fluid. The wolf's grip around her arm went from bone-crushing to merely flesh-tearing, but Max continued to jab the dagger into the creature's neck until it lay completely still. With a great effort, Max pushed the shaggy beast out of the way and rose on unsteady legs. Her left arm was totally limp, shredded to bits, her shoulder was stiff, and she felt the deep scratches in her face burn, but she didn't feel afraid, and she didn't feel any pain; she only felt a deep, primitive bloodlust. The second beast crouched less than ten feet away, one eye a red pit of blood and mucus dripping down its cheek. Its remaining eye glared at her with a glowing hate. Snarling, the wolf opened its jaws, showing row after row of gleaming sharp fangs, but Max shook the dagger at it and screamed from the top of her lungs, while taking some staggering steps forward. It wasn't a especially frightening scream to be honest, it sounded just like it was; a small teenage girl howling with rage, but the wolf made a long lamenting howl to the sky in return, backed away, and ran off into the darkness.

Panting, Max fell down on her knees. The next moment, Marie was there, steadying her when she was about to topple over from exhaustion.

"We need to go," She whispered in Max's ear, "This was just a scout patrol, and you don't want to be found by the others."

She tugged Max to her feet and, stumbling, they began to make their way through the darkness.

"I must say you have surprised me once again, World-walker," Marie huffed, "Though I should know that a small stature doesn't mean small in power, there are more clout in you than I first thought."

The pain in Max's left arm slowly rose from a low ache to outright unbearable, and however much Max tried to keep her mouth shut, she couldn't help but let out a low wail for every step she took.

"You need to get to the hospital," Marie said, "I'll show you the way."

"But… payment?"

"I help you now, and we're even for the deer, okay?"

"Okay," Max panted, and nearly tripped.

"Hang on," Marie said, "We're nearly there."

They continued until they reached a great boulder, half buried in the ground and covered in moss and vines.

"World-walker," Marie said and looked Max straight into her eyes, "There is a shit-storm coming for you. I can sense it."

Max had hoped that this morning's event had been as much shit-storm as she would ever have to endure. Marie looked around, searching the dark, then she turned back to Max.

"But I have some advice for you. There are some things you can do to make it worse. Don't do them."

That sounded like solid advice, though maybe a bit vague, but Max was to dizzy to tell Marie that, instead she sank down with her back against the rough rock. Her left arm hurt so much she just wanted to cry, but instead she looked back at Marie and held up the stone dagger, still dark and slippery with wolfs blood.

"Keep it," Marie said with a wave of her hand, "It's desecrated now so I can't use it anyway."

Then she crouched down in front of Max.

"I need you to do promise me something."

Max nodded, more to show that the was listening than to actually promise anything. She hadn't yet heard what it was about.

"Never, ever bring your friends here." Marie said.

Max's eyes widened. Her friends? Her troublesome friends, she must mean. Chloe and Rachel. Why would she ever want to bring them to this horrible place?

"No-one knows what will happen if all four of you would come here," Marie continued, "But it would be total chaos. Devastation like this place have never seen."

Marie looked deeply into Max's eyes, or the holes where her eyes would have been, at least.

"Keep them safe, but for heaven's sake, keep them away from here."

Max stared back in silence, trying to wrap her head around what had just been said. Marie squinted.

"Promise me, or I won't take you to the hospital." She said with a new, hard look in her eyes.

"You said… you'd take me," Max wheezed.

"Damn," Marie grumbled, "I did, didn't I?"

Max nodded

"Then we don't have much time," Marie said, "What can I do to get your promise?"

Max thought for a second, then weakly gestured at her scarred face. Marie shook her head.

"No, thats not fair."

Max gave a small shrug, and Marie sighed.

"Damn you, World-walker, " She said and glowered at Max, "You drive a hard bargain. Alright, I will find your eyes and bring them back to you. Deal?"

Max sank back with her head against the boulder and whispered;

"Deal."

Then, with a light push from Marie, Max fell backwards into the stone, and disappeared.

It was too damn bright. Max reflexively tried to lift her left hand up to shade her eyes, but as soon as she move her arm, a red hot spike shot up from it and she gasped in pain.

She found herself lying on her back, staring up in a crisp blue sky. The back of her head pounded as if she had hit it pretty hard. She remembered Marie, and the wolves clear as day, but had it been a dream? It couldn't have been. A hallucination, maybe? She tried to sit up, and it worked. What she could see through the holes in her hoodie, her left arm looked like something from a butchers shop, and the rest of her clothes were soaked in blood. Wolfs blood, she remembered. Her own blood was dripping from her arm and hand in a thin but steady flow. She needed to get help. Looking around, she saw she was in some kind of backyard, with a row of overfilled and stinking garbage cans to her left, and a small shed to her right. In front of her was a small cliff, jutting out from the slope like the broken, yellowed bone of some ancient giant creature.

Max came to her feet and started to limp forward. Her phone started to beep from queued up messages and missed calls, It must've been dozens of them at least. She staggered out on the road, but it just continued to buzz and ping in her pocket, and it seemed to never end. She staggered out in the empty street and saw the hospital just a stones throw away. Max felt how the splintered bones in her arm grated with every step, and it hurt like hell. Blood seeped out from the bite wounds, ran down along her arm and dripped from her fingertips down on the cracked tarmac. It didn't seem like any big arteries were severed, or else she would've already been dead, but by looking at the red trail she left behind her as she painfully stumbled along the road towards the hospital, Max guessed she had lost a lot of blood already. She felt cold and very weak. And so very thirsty. It was probable she wouldn't make it to the hospital after all, which seemed like a shame when she had gotten this far.

In a haze her knees buckled under her and she fell and hit her forehead hard on the ground. But she didn't mind, it was very nice to just lie down for a while. It made her head a bit less dizzy, and her vision also seemed to clear up some, even if it was still blurry. She had no strength to get up again, though. She lay where she lay, and that was that.

 _Oh, Chloe,_ Max thought. _It seems a short time together is all we will have, regardless of how I try to bend reality. The rule of actions and counteractions I guess. Aw, fuck you, reality and your stupid rules._

But Max wasn't about to cry about it, she had already cried enough about the unfairness of the world. So much she got sick of it. So she had chosen to fight instead, and now it seemed she was done fighting too. She was content with that she had done all she could.

 _Well, better me than you, Chloe._

It felt like she fell into a dream again. Somewhere a car braked hard. It was a blue muscle car that she thought she recognised through her blurry vision.

She thought she heard Chloe. Max couldn't make out the words, but she sounded upset. Max wanted to hug her, to stroke her cheek and tell her that everything would be alright, and that Max was fine and not in pain anymore. And, that she was happy that they had gotten at least one night together. Definitely one up on the other timeline. Max opened her mouth to tell her, but all that came out was a gurgling whimper, then blackness swallowed her and she was gone.


End file.
